Light of his Life
by SalSassy
Summary: Timeline set after Doyle saga. Emily had his daughter and moved to London to run Interpol. Mick came back into her life and flipped it upside down. Love, chaos, fluff, smut, and everything in-between. Rating subject to change
1. Chapter 1

"You enjoying our first date?" Mick asked his date. "Yeah it's nice." the younger woman responded. Mick fidgeted with the loose change in his pocket as their pod came back to the ground. Mick helped his date step down so that she wouldn't fall. She turned and smiled at him, "A museum, art gallery, and the London Eye all in one date. I'm impressed; most guys just go for dinner or coffee." Mick cocked his head to the side, "Thought you realized by now that I'm not most guys."

Mick thought he was imagining things as he looked down the street and saw the object of his affection walking slowly with her back turned to him. Mick didn't realize that he'd been staring in that direction for nearly ten minutes, which only served to thoroughly piss his date off. She huffed out in annoyance, "Are you kidding me? I go out of my way to find a head-turning outfit for this date and you're staring at somebody else?" Mick bit his tongue for the moment. In truth, he hadn't been more ready for a date to end in his life. His date for the night was rude, conceited, and shallow. He'd played the gentleman all night but was starting to get quite aggravated. He stopped a cab and held the door open for her. Mick was unfazed by her mouth hanging open before she bumped him hard and got into the cab. "Goodnight Victoria." She never responded and he was fine with that as he watched the cab take off. Mick didn't know if his mind was playing tricks on him or what but he decided to stay a couple more days in London before he returned to the States.

The next morning, Mick decided to go for a run. After a couple miles, he decided to stop for a rest and to stretch his muscles. He looked up towards a street vendor and saw her again. Realizing that he might not see her again, he jogged hastily in the direction of the street vendor. "My god she's still beautiful." Mick whispered out loud to himself. He stared at her not thinking that any of it was real. "Emily?"

Emily turned her head at the sound of her name. Her breath caught before she gave Mick a genuine Emily smile. "Hey Rawson..uh Mick. What are you doing in London?" "I could ask you the same." "I left the BAU and came here to run Interpol." Mick shook out of his trance, "Uh yeah I heard something about you leaving but I thought it was a rumor." Emily finally turned around completely and Mick felt his stomach drop five floors. Mick stared open-mouthed at the sleeping baby Emily had in her arms. "You had a baby?" Emily looked at the shock and hurt in Mick's eyes before she tried to reach out to him but he pulled back. Emily pulled her hand back and caught Mick's eyes as he saw the offended expression on her face. "I didn't know that you were with anyone. I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you and your family."

Emily yanked the short sleeve of Mick's shirt, forcing him to turn and face her. "It's not what you think. My daughter, Kehlani, was not my choice. I'm pretty sure you heard some rumors about the whole Doyle thing and faking my death." Mick nodded yes and Emily moved closer to him and said in a hushed tone, "Doyle raped me when he held me hostage. Kehlani is my miracle baby and I don't regret having her. She's perfect and she's changed my life for the better." Emily stepped away from Mick and turned away swallowing down her tears. Although her old team at the BAU offered to help her, Emily declined and said that this was something that she needed to do on her own. Mick really liked Emily and wanted her to give him a chance, so he stopped her while he still had the chance to. "Emily wait. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have implied. Can I make it up to you while I'm still here?" "I'm busy Mick." "Emily I'm sorry that I was an idiotic git just then but I really am sorry and would like to make it up to you. Please? I'm just asking for a chance to start over." "Mick my life is not just me and the job anymore. My life is Kehlani."

"I understand that completely. I just want to show you what it's like for someone to truly care about you." Emily shrugged him off, "You don't mean any of that. You just want to get laid."

"Are you serious? Have you seen me? I can get laid if I wanted to, yet I'm here." Mick's cocky attitude never phased to make Emily laugh just a little. She did want some adult interaction besides her co-workers and parents. Entertaining Mick couldn't be that bad could it? It wouldn't make a difference because he would go back to the States pretty soon anyways.

Emily gave Mick a small smile before saying, "Fine. How long are you here for?" "I've stretched my visit to a week longer." Mick lied smoothly and made a mental note of asking Sam for that time off.

"Okay we can meet up tomorrow right here and go from there." "I'll be here." Mick watched Emily walk away and knew that he had a week to try and convince her to let him into her and her daughter's world.

Emily knew that she had a week to get tired of Mick and let him disappear out her life once again. On the other hand, there was a small part of her that hoped that he'd stay.


	2. Chapter 2

Day 1:

Mick arrived at the street vendor's stand earlier than Emily did. He took the opportunity to try and buy her a gift. "Excuse me." The short, older woman looked up with a smile on her face. "I remember you. You were talking to the pretty lady with the precious baby." Mick smiled back sweetly before asking, "About that, was the pretty lady looking at anything particular?" "Yes of course. She was eyeing this sapphire teardrop necklace but with a little one, she said it'd be a bad idea." "How much?" Mick asked with a smile.

He was just placing the gift in his jacket pocket when he saw Emily approaching. She'd let her hair grow out so it was long but it had light brown highlights throughout. She was still slim but her bust had gotten bigger. Today she was wearing light blue jeans, wedges, and simple white t-shirt. To Mick, she was absolutely stunning. He met her halfway and they gave each other an awkward hug, "No Kehlani?" Emily was slightly surprised that he'd brought her daughter up but was even more curious when she looked at him and noticed that he was serious. She laughed it off but pushing his shoulder lightly. "You have to work your way up to that one buddy. So, where are we going?" "Have you eaten?" Emily shook her head no. "I was thinking that maybe we could try Satori for pizza. Surely as an American, pizza runs through your veins." Emily laughed out loud and Mick felt himself starting to melt at that sweet sound. "Yeah cause that wasn't an insult at all. Italians are known for pizza. Americans are known for burgers." "Okay American Eagle, you want a burger?" She laughed again and Mick joined in this time. "No, pizza's good. Besides I doubt they have Glamorgan sausage in London." Mick was shock into momentary silence. "You been to Wales before?" Emily gave Mick a slight smirk as they walked the short distance, "I've been many places Agent Rawson."

The two kept casual small talk on their way to Satori. When they arrived, Mick couldn't pretend not to notice how the staff called Emily by name and escorted them to a table. He raised a brow as they sat down and she chuckled. "What? I'm a foodie. Food is heaven." "And here I thought I was heaven." Emily rolled her eyes and smiled as a large pizza with the works was placed in front of them. Mick looked at it suspiciously before Emily egged him on. "Come on Mick. It's just a pizza. Try it and I'll tell you what's on it." Mick grabbed a slice and stared at it. "I can't believe that pizza scares the big bad Mick Rawson." That was all it took and Mick took a huge bite into the somewhat heavy slice in his hands.

Mick had an explosion of flavor in his mouth and couldn't stop the moan that escaped. That moan sent vibrations right to Emily's core. She could feel her face flush as Mick licked his tongue out to catch the sauce that was on his chin. _Damn he's got a long tongue. Stop it Emily. You are not going to jump his bones._ Emily's internal battle with her thoughts stopped as Mick glanced over to her and she immediately took a bite of her slice. She got lost in her own world, as usual when she ate, and let out gentle moans at the culinary excellence of her pizza. Mick felt his pants begin to tighten when Emily moaned. _I want her to moan my name. I bet she's a wildcat. Stop acting like a horny teenager Mick. You actually want her to give you a chance._ Mick cleared his throat and took another bite before asking Emily, "What's on the pizza?" Emily seemed almost annoyed that she was interrupted, which made Mick chuckle, but nonetheless answered his question. "Mushrooms, fontina cheese, fried egg, corn, pesto, arugula, honey, prosciutto, artichoke, kielbasa, and lamb." Mick was shocked that there was so much on this pizza and that all the flavors actually worked in concert. "You're kidding?" "Nope. That's everything."

"Honey?" Mick asked and Emily decided to mess with him. "Yes sweetie." Mick looked at the childish glimmer in her eyes before he saw her breathtaking smile. "I meant on the pizza?" "You want me on the pizza?", she asked innocently with a raised brow. _You have no idea._ "There's honey on the pizza? How did I not taste it?" Mick regretted the way he'd formed that question when he heard himself say it. "Maybe your palette needs some work." _Work on me, of course._ Mick bit back a groan and took a large gulp from his glass. _I'd love to test my palette out on you._ Emily and Mick chatted some more before he asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. "Well I have to work this pizza off so sure." _I can give you a way to work it off._ Mick bit his lip, which Emily found incredibly adorable, and paid the bill before the two walked out of the restaurant.

Mick and Emily leisurely walked down Moorgate Street before stopping in front of a small bridge. Mick looked at her before turning his body. "Can I help you Rawson?" Emily said with a smirk. "Humor me. Tell me about Kehlani. Doesn't have to be much but I'd like to know about her if it's not a problem." Emily was taken back and bit out, "Why would you want to know about my daughter?" "I am spending time with her mother. I don't know many mothers that don't talk about their children constantly. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Oh geez I'm screwing this up. What I meant to say is that I would like for you to talk about your daughter. My mom still talks about her amazing son-that's me by the way- and how she was so lucky to have such a stupendous son." "Stupendous!"

"That's all you got from that? Not even this devilishly handsome guy right here?" He said pointing his thumbs at himself. Emily laughed that sweet music that Mick was quickly falling in love with. "Well she's almost a year old. She has the most beautiful laugh in the whole world. She already started walking a few weeks ago. She has the biggest, brown eyes you've ever seen-" "Bigger than yours?", Mick asked with a smile. Emily smiled back before saying, "Yes bigger than mine but hers are cute and doe-like. She plays with everyone's hair and her new obsession is my hair and her fingers." Emily stopped talking when she realized that Mick was staring at her. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze and scrunched her face up. "What? Is there something in my teeth?" Mick shook himself out his trance and looked back at Emily. "No you don't have anything in your teeth. You just bright up whenever you talk about Kehlani."

"She's my life." "Maybe one day I'll be able to meet her." Emily looked at Mick closely and saw the sincerity in his eyes. _Dammit, He's going to knock my walls down._ "Maybe", she whispered back to him. "Today's been fun Emily." "Yeah, I didn't want to strangle you, so I'd say that today went well." Mick smirked at Emily, "Now that's just hot." Emily tried and failed to hold her smile back. "No comment Mick. No comment." Mick walked Emily back to her car and opened the door so that she could get in. He leaned down until he was face to face with Emily. She blushed slightly at how close they were but moved her head as he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed his cheek instead and whispered. "Maybe another time." Mick smiled at stood to close her door. "Get home safely." "I will." Just as she was about to pull off Mick said, "Tomorrow? How about the National Gallery?"

Emily bit her lip slightly. "I'd love that. I'll be here by noon." From the way that Emily laughed and smiled at him, Mick thought that his chances were starting to look better and better.


	3. Chapter 3

Day 2

Mick spent the previous night researching the meaning behind the name Emily chose for her daughter. He learned that Kehlani was of Hawaiian origin. The meaning was 'sky'; Emily chose a strong name for her little girl. He got up fairly early that morning and went to do a little shopping in Mayfair. He found a teddy bear that was holding a cloud and sun above its head. Mick thought that it fit perfectly with Kehlani's name. Mick kept the bear with the necklace that he'd already bought Emily previously; he planned on giving them both to her before he left London. Mick was pleasantly surprised that Cooper gave him an extra week off after he'd already been there nearly a week.

Mick leaned against his rental and waited for Emily. When Emily got out the car, she saw Mick and couldn't help but check him out. He was wearing black jeans and a somewhat tight burgundy v neck t-shirt. Emily could see the outline of his very fit body and unconsciously licked her lips. Mick turned to see Emily in a white jumpsuit. _Her body is ridiculous. Come on Mick, don't start that right now. You want to DATE her, not just bone her._ Mick trailed his eyes over her body until he met her eyes. "Hey stranger." "Hey yourself beautiful." Emily blushed and cleared her throat, "You don't have to do that you know." Mick stood up straight and looked down at his shoes, "Do what? Call you beautiful? I say it because I mean it." Mick moved closer to Emily and ran his fingers through her gentle waves. He was only a hair's breath away from her lips when he said, "You are a beautiful woman Emily." Emily felt goosebumps spread over her body and she leaned in impossibly close and watched Mick's eyes slowly close, "You're not too bad yourself Mick." "Now that was just wrong. You're such a tease", Mick said with a pout on his lips. Emily smiled before grabbing his hand. Mick raised an eyebrow at the gesture before Emily tugged on his hand, "Come on Mick. I know a shortcut."

Mick studied Emily while she studied the paintings. He watched intently as her brown eyes widen in amusement and narrowed when she tried to decipher a painting. She saw subtle things in the art that Mick didn't and that sparked his interest even more. He snapped out of his trance when Emily laughed. _God I love that sound._ "Huh?" Mick asked Emily. "I was saying that the painting against the far wall is almost identical to the one that Kehlani and I made. Trust me, we spent nowhere near that much on it." Emily looked up and realized that Mick was staring at her again, which made her blush. "You stare at me a lot, did you know that?" "Maybe I really enjoy the view." Emily and Mick were interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind. Mick watched in annoyance as some guy attempted to flirt with Emily. Emily looked past the arrogant man flirting with her right into Mick's eyes. She stopped whatever the guy was rambling about, "Look I'm on a date."

The guy didn't want to take no for an answer so Mick intervened, "Step off." "Or what?" "Or I'll kick-"

"Mick" Emily said as she tried to pull him back. she moved close to him, "It's not worth it." The guy shrugged his shoulders and walked off to go harass someone else. Feeling the tension from Mick, Emily knew that she needed to change the mood. "You ready to leave?" Mick's mood changed immediately, "I'm sorry Emily. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just that —" Emily silenced Mick with a kiss. Mick was in heaven from the fact that Emily was actually kissing him. She pulled back, "Stop overthinking things like a chick." Mick growled slightly before reaching out to grab Emily's waist and pull her flush against him. He captured her lips once again and took his time, nipping at her full lips. Emily felt Mick's tongue pressing against her closed lips and happily parted them. The first touch of their tongues sent shockwaves through Mick and Emily. Emily felt her toes curl while Mick got lost attempting to probe every crevice of her mouth with his tongue. Emily felt eyes on them before Mick did and tried to pull away but Mick wasn't having it.

Emily managed to wiggle away, "Mick people are staring," "People should bugger off. Now can I have those candy pillows back?" "Candy pillows?" Mick exhaled dramatically, "Fine. Come here sugar lips." Mick watched Emily's jaw drop and took advantage by placing kisses all over the sides of her mouth. When she closed her mouth, he trailed kisses from her jaw to her mouth. Emily moaned softly into Mick's mouth before pulling back to catch her breath. "Can we please go so that people will stop staring at us?" Mick nodded and grabbed her hand. As they left the National Gallery, Emily intertwined her fingers in Mick's.

Mick and Emily walked hand in hand back to their cars without much talking. Both had longing thoughts about one another. _I really like him. Maybe I should see where this can go. Are you serious Em? He has never interacted with Kehlani. Make a decision after you see how they interact._ Mick couldn't stop thinking about Emily. _I can't leave London without knowing if she wants to date me. You've never been this gone over a woman before. Then again, Emily isn't just any woman. I really want to get to know Kehlani too. They both deserve someone who stays around and actually cares about them._

"This is me." Emily said, hearing the own regret in her voice. Neither one wanted to let go of the other but did reluctantly. "Mick?" Emily watched his eyes perk up and said, "How about we meet up at the Science Museum?" "So that you can show me how much of a nerd you really are?" Emily laughed at Mick, "Yeah something like that." Emily pulled Mick's arms until they were wrapped around her. She ran her gentle hands through his hair before leaning in to kiss him. Mick savored every millisecond of that kiss before she pulled away, too soon for him.

"Tomorrow?" Mick pecked her lips once more. "Tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Day 3

Mick felt his palms get sweaty as he walked into the Science Museum. He couldn't figure out why he was so nervous. _Did you take it too far with the kiss? Wait, she initiated it, but you got lost in it. Great, now she only thinks that I want to shag her. Ugh you are such an idiot. How can she think a guy like you would actually be serious about a relationship?_

Emily walked into the Science Museum and saw Mick having yet another mental battle with himself. She chuckled as she saw the different expressions go across his face in the span of a few seconds. She shook her nerves off and walked over to him. "Overthinking things like a chick again?", she asked with humor in her voice. Mick turned around at the sound of her voice and felt like a love-struck teenager all over again. "Mick this is Kehlani" Mick watched as Emily grabbed the tiny little paw of the babbling baby girl and cooed, "Lani this is Mick. Can you say hi?" Mick smiled nervously at the one-year-old and she gave him a slobbery smile back. "Don't be so nervous around her Mick. She doesn't bite; uh actually on second thought, she'll bite you with the few teeth she has." Emily said with a smile. In that moment, Mick knew he was a goner.

After a few hours, some of the exhibits for children were more accessible for Emily and Mick. There was a children's science lab set up. "You mind?" Mick asked timidly and blushed slightly when Emily gave him a curious stare. "Um sure." Emily looked on part in fear and part in amazement. The mom in her was paranoid about letting her little girl out of her sight. The rational cop in her knew that Mick was more afraid of Kehlani than it being the other way around. She took pictures of everything. She got pictures of Kehlani trying to mash Mick's face together, Mick helping her go through the mock science lab, and even the both of them simultaneously yawning. After nearly an hour, Mick looked down at the nodding baby on his chest. Emily had insisted more than once that she could take her, but Mick assured her that he was fine holding her.

Right now, they were leisurely walking in a park and Mick spotted a gelato stand and then sat down on a picnic blanket. Mick stared at Emily as she attempted to feed Kehlani the gelato. Mick saw the complete beauty that Emily was in spite of the various stains Kehlani managed to add to her outfit. Mick looked down at a sticky Kehlani that had more gelato on her clothes than in her mouth. Emily turned to rummage through her bag for baby wipes. Kehlani took the opportunity to crawl over to Mick and he welcomed her with open arms. He lifted her up and she giggled and babbled loudly. Emily looked at the sight in front of her and had to fight the waterworks. _He's really good with her. He won't hurt her. Maybe he does care about us. Doyle cared about you and look how that turned out. He didn't care about you; he cared about a part you played. Mick is here and he is genuine so just give him a chance. Who are you kidding Em? Long distance will never work._ Emily snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Mick waving his hand in front of her face. "Sorry, what did you say?", Emily asked while hiding her blushing cheeks. "The wipes?" "Oh yeah, I can do it." "I don't mind. Honest." Emily reluctantly handed the wipes over to Mick.

She watched as Mick crossed his legs and sat Kehlani down in-between them. He started to tell her an animated story about when he lived in Wales. He gently wiped Kehlani's face and them her tiny pink hands. Mick looked over to her and she smiled widely at him. He helped Kehlani stand while she attempted to walk to Emily. After a few shaky tries, she made it to Emily's open arms and toothy grin and exploded into high-pitched giggles and squeals. Emily helped her stand and she attempted to walk to Mick. When she made it, he picked her up and lifted her above his head. He brought her down and blew raspberries on her stomach, making her laugh harder. Emily joined in on the laughter and didn't really pay attention to the older couple approaching them. "I'm so sorry to interrupt but your family is beautiful." Emily couldn't respond before she walked off with her husband. Emily looked over to Mick and saw no embarrassment on his face.

Mick saw how uncomfortable the comment made her and tried to smooth things over. "She didn't mean anything by it." Emily started to shove her things into her bag and reached for Kehlani. "Emily-"

"Mick hand me my daughter please!" Mick swallowed back sadness and handed the little girl back to her mother. "This was a bad idea.", Emily said before brushing past Mick.

Mick stood dumbfounded long after Emily and Kehlani had left. He also made up in his mind that he wouldn't let them go without a fight. He still had 4 days to win Emily over and he planned to do just that…if she'd let him.


	5. Chapter 5

Day 4

Mick was restless the entire night. He couldn't stop thinking about how fast everything went bad at the park. He knew that Emily was uncomfortable, but he didn't expect her to bolt out of the park the way she did. He thought that he'd done everything right, but it was obvious that he didn't. He toyed with the necklace and bear that he'd bought Emily and Kehlani before placing them next to him on the bed. He puffed out a breath of frustration before getting up to get dressed. On his way out the door, Mick called Interpol to see if Emily was at work and was disappointed when they said that she wasn't. Mick decided that he'd just try and walk around the city to clear his mind.

After about 3 or so hours of walking, Mick glanced up and saw Emily walked in a baby store called _Oh Baby London._ He quickly crossed the street and stopped short of the door to catch his breath. He shook off his nerves and opened the door to the store. He was immediately hit with the sweet smell of cotton candy and overwhelming shrills of children laughing. He saw Emily playing with a giggling Kehlani as she searched through the racks of clothes. She looked over at his general direction but failed to notice Mick standing awkwardly in the store's entrance. She looked over again and that's when she saw him. Emily's eyes widened as she stared at Mick across the store. She hastily put the clothes back on the rack and tried to make her escape.

Mick stopped her before she could reach the door, "Emily wait! Please just talk to me for a second." Emily stopped and rested her hand on the handle of the door. "Mick let's not-"

"Emily I didn't know that the older couple would make you so uncomfortable. What is so wrong with her saying that we made a beautiful family?" "Because we aren't a family!"

Mick saw the tears before Emily felt them fall. He stepped closer to her as he wiped the tears away. Emily tried to pull out of his reach and looked down at Kehlani in the baby carrier that was strapped to her chest. She whispered out, "No one ever cares about me. No one will ever love us, so I refuse to get my hopes up. As long as I have my daughter I'll be fine." Mick tilted Emily's chin up towards him, "Do you really believe that? I'm here and I want to be a part of the both of your lives but you won't let me in. Emily, I don't want to hurt either one of you. I want to stay in your lives." Mick released her chin and bowed his head, "I want to love Kehlani as my own and love her mother too."

Emily stood like a deer in headlights at Mick's words. "Why would you want to love us?" Mick looked at Kehlani first before dragging his eyes up to look at Emily. "Because you're both worth it."

Kehlani broke the couple's intense eye contact when she stopped playing with her foot long enough to reach for Mick with a wide smile. Mick hesitated before Emily reached for his hand and pulled it towards her. "Go ahead, you've already managed to win her over", Emily said with a smile. Mick reached for Kehlani and lifted her out of the carrier. He kissed her chubby cheek and bounced her lightly. Emily watched on for a little while before she reached out to grab Mick's hand, "You want to get out of here?"

Mick's boyish smile was the only confirmation that Emily needed before she tugged at his arm and led him out the store. After about 10 minutes of strolling leisurely through the city, Emily got Mick's attention by asking, "What were you planning on doing today?" Mick turned his attention from the little girl in his arms to her mother. "I was just going to take the two of you to a pond so that Kehlani can see the ducks."

Emily felt so bad for just turning her back on this amazing man the day before. _Emily do NOT ruin a good thing. Mick may not be in love with you yet but he is madly in love with your little girl. Stop running from happiness._ "Penny for your thoughts?" "Trust me they aren't worth that much." Mick turned so that they could start walking again but Emily tugged on his hand, willing him to stop. Mick turned back around and was thrown off for a couple of seconds as Emily surprised him with a kiss. _God I've missed those lips. Get ahold of yourself Mick, it's been less than a week and you're already whipped._ Mick used his free hand to grip Emily's neck gently while he nibbled at her lips. She opened her mouth and Mick immediately shoved his tongue inside. Emily stole the very breath that Mick had, but he didn't mind one bit.

Mick felt small slaps to the side of his face. He pulled back from Emily, as she whined, and turned his attention back to Kehlani. She wasn't too pleased with not having the attention; the pout the one-year-old sported lasted only until they got to the pond. She saw other kids with kites and her eyes lit up. Mick tapped her lightly on the shoulder with his index finger, "You're not big enough yet little one."

"Emily I'm really happy that you reconsidered walking out on me." "Who said I reconsidered?" The tiny look of horror masked by shock on Mick's face made Emily burst out into laughter. His face slowly relaxed as Emily finally caught her breath and kiss him lightly on the cheek. "I'm sorry, but that was too easy." Emily's giggles were turned into a shocked and embarrassed gasp as Mick grabbed her ass and pulled her closer to him. Mick watched her brown eyes get bigger while her fair porcelain skin turned a shade of periwinkle pink. "Certainly, you aren't embarrassed love?" Mick asked with a cocky raise of his eyebrow.

Emily tried to claw Mick's hand off her ass but he had one hell of a grip. "Mick stop. People are watching", Emily hissed out. "You've said that before darling." Emily attempted to glare at Mick but he made it nearly impossible for her to stay mad at him. _Hey at least the guy is interested._ Emily glanced over as Kehlani gave a big yawn and a sleepy rub of the eyes. Emily reached for her and Mick reluctantly complied. Emily leaned in to kiss Mick once more on the lips. She pulled back and kissed his cheek, "I'm not running anymore. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow then." Mick watched with a grin of satisfaction as Emily and Kehlani walked off in the opposite direction. He reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his cellphone. He looked at the screen and saw that Emily had put her phone number in his phone. _When did she do that? Damn she is something else._


	6. Chapter 6

Day 5

Mick slept a lot better than he had in the nights before. Once he got out of the bed completely, he decided to give Emily and Kehlani their gifts today instead of waiting. It had been driving him insane so far to not do so anyways. He showered quickly and exited the small bathroom with a towel around his waist before deciding to call Emily.

The phone rang three times before she picked up, "And here I thought it would take you longer to realize that I gave you my number", Emily said with laughter in her voice. Mick put his phone on speaker and started to get dressed. "Tricky girl. How did you manage to do that without me noticing?"

More laughter and then he heard, "A magician never reveals her tricks." "You know magic?" "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Have you eaten?" "No not yet." "Good. You can join us for breakfast. See you in a bit."

"Wait, wait! I don't have your address." "I already texted it to you." "How are you this tricky?" Emily laughed before responding, "I have my ways. Hurry up Rawson." "Yes Ma'am." "Don't call me Ma'am."

Mick got to Emily's place in under a half hour. He was truly surprised at the marvelous building she lived in. _Interpol takes care of their people._ He pressed the buzzer and went up after she let him in. When he got in the elevator, he pressed the penthouse button. _Buddy are you sure that she's not way out of your league? For crying out loud Mick, you live in a bungalow in D.C. and she's in a penthouse in the heart of London. She's definitely out of your league. But she gave you a chance. She's not her wealth but the same woman that you've probably already fallen head over heels for._ Mick wiped his sweaty palms on his thigh-clad jeans before knocking on the door.

Mick could hear laughter and light music playing before the crème colored door swung open. Mick smiled brightly at the sight of Emily with bed-tousled hair and pajamas on. She stepped aside and let Mick enter her widely open and spacious flat. He immediately saw a bouncing Kehlani surrounded by a variety of toys. He walked over and watched as the little girl's face lit up when she saw him. She immediately stretched her arms up for him and Mick happily obliged her by lifting her off the ground. Emily watched in silence for a few moments before she turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

After a half hour of hearing Mick's baby talk and Kehlani's distant giggles and babbles, Emily called out to Mick, "What do you like in your omelets?" Mick was busy trying to pry Kehlani's slobbery paws out of his hair before he answered. "Um surprise me." Emily chuckled, "Sorry, I forgot to warn you that she's obsessed with hair." "You told me but I thought it was only your hair that she was fascinated with."

Mick listened to various banging sounds from the kitchen and craned his neck to see Emily. She looked up at him and smiled before turning back around to finish making breakfast. Less than ten minutes later, Emily walked back into the living room, "Breakfast's ready." Mick got up and managed to pick Kehlani up in the process. "How much do you work out Mick or do you just practice picking up babies with one hand?" Mick suppressed a groan and bit his lip instead. _Keep it in your pants Mick. She didn't mean it like that._ He looked over at her sultry smile and the little glint in her eyes. _Of course, she meant it like that. She's been messing with you this entire time. Game on Emily. Two can play this game._

Emily barely broke eye contact with Mick while they ate their breakfast in comfortable silence. The only time she did was when she helped Kehlani eat her silver dollar pancakes. Mick didn't know how much longer he could control himself after listening to Emily's small moans and seeing her sensual chewing. He excused himself towards the end of breakfast to try and control his raging hard-on. He kept telling himself to think of anything else but Emily, but it wasn't working. It took Mick 20 minutes to calm himself down enough to go back into the living room and spend time with his girls. Mick walked as casually as he could into the living room and was surprised to no longer see Kehlani.

"Um…"

Emily shifted slightly on the large couch, "Kehlani wakes up way too early. After she eats, she normally goes right back to sleep…..in her playpen." Emily finished and pointed across the room at a snoozing Kehlani in her purple and blue playpen. Emily patted the couch next to her but Mick held up a finger to her before disappearing near the front door. After rummaging through the bag he brought with him, he reappeared into Emily's line of sight. Emily raised a curious brow, "Do I want to know what you're hiding?" Mick rolled on the balls of his feet before pulling the bear from behind his back.

Emily gasped lightly and stared at the bear, she felt fresh tears sting her eyes at the gesture. She whispered out, "Mick….you…you didn't have to….buy her anything." Mick shrugged off her comment and walked over to place the bear next to Kehlani's small sleeping frame. "I looked up her name after you told me. I found that it meant sky and I thought that this bear fit perfectly." Emily stood behind Mick and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked a kiss to the base of his neck. "It's perfect. Thank you." Mick shook off the goosebumps Emily gave him and turned in her arms. "You don't have to thank me. I did it because I wanted to." "Why do you have to be so sweet?" "I know it's a hard thing to believe but I can be sweet. Besides, I already told you that I'm in this for the both of you."

Emily went to sit back down on the couch and tugged Mick's hand with her. He sat down first and pulled Emily to lie between the V of his legs under the blanket she had resting on the couch. Emily got so enthralled into the movie she was watching on T.V., that she didn't notice Mick shifting behind her. He pulled the necklace out his back pocket, unclasped it, and placed it around Emily's neck. Her body froze as she felt the cool necklace resting on her upper chest. She touched the necklace and instantly recognized it as the one she decided against buying because she had a small child at home. Emily completed turned around and straddled Mick's legs. She kissed him with all the passion she could muster. She dug her hands in his scalp and shoved her tongue in his mouth. They both moaned at the sensation and Emily shifted once more until she was sitting directly on top of Mick's erection. He pulled away slightly embarrassed but Emily didn't care and kissed him once again. Mick eagerly returned the kiss and pulled her even closer to him. "Em, Kehlani is-"

"Asleep."

Emily kissed Mick slowly again and broke away from the kiss only to breathe. "She sleeps." Kiss. "Like a rock." Kiss. "Are you going to stop teasing me now?"

Mick pulled away with a big grin on his face, "Teasing you, me? You've been teasing me nonstop. Are you done being a tease?" "If I'm not, then what? You going to punish me?"

Emily gave Mick the best innocent look that she could muster. What little control he had snapped and he gave into Emily's temptation. He nibbled at her bottom lip and husked out, "We can't wake Kehlani."

"We won't."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm sorry Mick. I thought I was ready." Emily said barely above a whisper. Mick peppered her pale back with soothing kisses. "It's okay sweetheart." Mick rubbed gentle circles up and down her back and ghosted two of his fingers over the thin scar going from her back out to her right hip. He kissed the entire length of her scar which gave her goosebumps.

"He did this to you." Mick said in more of a statement than a question. Emily murmured, "I did it to myself." She looked up at Mick's shocked expression before staring back down at an invisible spot on her dark purple sheets. "I fought against the chain and it dug into my skin." She stopped talking as she felt Mick kissing her scar again. "I really wanted to sleep with you. I just-"

Mick silenced her with a finger to her lips. "I want you to be 100% ready when I rock your world." Emily smiled a little and tugged at his hand. "So cocky." Mick laughed and allowed her to pull him to her. Mick rested on his stomach across her long legs and looked up at her face. "You are truly beautiful, did you know that?" Her response was to blush profusely and nudge at Mick's shoulder lightly. He reached up and brushed her long hair out of her face. Emily grabbed his hand as it left her face and intertwined their fingers. "Mick. I think I'm falling for you." "Go ahead, I'll catch you."

Emily laughed out loud and Mick joined in. "That was so corny." Mick gave Emily a wide smile before saying, "I never expected you to just come out and tell me that. I am happy that you did because I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with you." He looked up at Emily's wide brown eyes and stopped her from speaking. "I don't want you to say it until you know you mean it. I just needed to tell you that." Emily smiled and pushed Mick back with her foot until he sat upright in the middle of her queen-sized bed. Emily gently removed her foot from Mick's chest and crawled over to him. She propped herself up in his lap and leaned in to gently peck him once on the lips. Mick captured Emily's lips and kissed her sensually. She moaned lightly into his mouth but it quickly turned into a tiny groan as they both heard Kehlani wake up from her morning nap.

Mick dragged Emily's bottom lip between his teeth before pulling back with a playful look in his eyes. "I'll get her. Be right back." he said with one more peck to the lips. Emily watched with a longing gaze as Mick disappeared out of her bedroom. _This is happiness Em. Enjoy it and embrace it._

Mick walked back into the room bouncing a giggling Kehlani and an armful of snacks in the other hand. "We are having a day of movies." Emily chuckled, "Okayy. You do know that she won't understand anything happening in the movie, right?" "Exactly." Emily laughed again and got out of the bed to grab a stack of movies.

Mick sniffed Kehlani and made a sour face when he realized that she needed to be changed. He went to the corner where he saw a small changing station set up. He laid her down on the changing table and reached for a clean diaper. He could hear Emily on the other side of the room just grabbing DVDs. With his back turned, he called out to Emily, "Please don't make me watch chick flicks. I'm begging you." He heard her stop moving before he added, "Or nerdy movies."

Emily huffed out in annoyance, "Now I have to go in the living room." She stopped in her tracks at the sound of Mick gasping humorously. "Oh, sprung a leak!" was all Emily heard as Kehlani's loud giggles drowned out Mick. She turned around with a smile as she saw Mick scrambling for a diaper. She was about to help him until she saw him fasten the diaper on Kehlani's wiggling body. Mick picked her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Emily excused herself quietly and went into the living room to fetch action and horror movies to satisfy Mick. She returned to see Mick and Kehlani having a very animated conversation about something. She cleared her throat in the doorway, causing Mick to look in her direction. "I grabbed Wrong Turn, Live Free or Die Hard, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

Mick smiled in triumph as she brought movies that appeased his taste. She put Wrong Turn in and turned to walked back towards the bed. Mick held out his hand to her and tugged her towards him. Emily rested between Mick's outstretched legs and rested the back of her head on Mick's stomach and they both sighed contently. _I feel so safe in his arms._

 _It feels so perfect to hold them both in my arms._ Kehlani was reclined on Mick's upper chest with her tiny hand rested on Mick's nose. As the movie went on, Kehlani nuzzled her nose into Mick's neck and he felt her small, warm breaths against his already warm skin. He glanced down to see that Emily had never released his hand and she had wrapped her other free arm around his right thigh. Mick was completely in heaven and at peace. He was so far on Cloud 9 that when he thought about going back home in two days, his heart physically hurt. He didn't want any of this to end. _I can't just expect Emily to uproot her life and come back to D.C. with me. I'm going to miss them so much. I can't lose them. I'll do anything to keep this for the rest of my life._

Mick stopped fighting with his inner thoughts and enjoyed the rest of the day with his favorite girls. Halfway through the last movie, Mick's stomach started to growl, as did Emily's. He chuckled lightly while Emily craned her neck to look up at him. "We need to eat but can we finish the movie first", Emily said with a small grin. Mick nodded in agreement before turning his attention back to the screen.

About 45 minutes later, Emily heard the doorbell ring. She went to get it and smiled at the delivery woman who held her and Mick's Indian food. She graciously paid the woman and grabbed the food from her before closing the front door. Mick walked into the kitchen and saw Emily separating their dinner onto plates. He strapped Kehlani into her high chair and grabbed the smaller plate Emily fixed and placed it in front of Kehlani. Emily's breath hitched when she felt Mick's arms around her waist and his breath on her neck. _God, he makes me feel like a teenager._ Mick placed a gentle kiss to her neck and smiled against her skin as he felt her shiver. Emily melted into his embrace and felt his arms wrap a little tighter around her body. They stood like that until Emily finished making their plates. She shifted on her feet slightly and turned her head to peck him only the lips. She pulled her lips back by only a fraction and whispered onto his lips. "You're leaving."

Mick sighed internally and looked into her downcast eyes. "Yes, sweetheart I'm leaving but it doesn't change us. I still want this to work." "While on different continents?"

Mick pulled back and grabbed Emily's face between his hands. "I love you Emily and I love Kehlani. I know that this will be hard but I want a future with the both of you no matter what. We can make this work Em. I know we can because you are worth it and so much more. Please give us a chance. A real chance." Emily stared at Mick with watery eyes and shook her head. "Yes. I'll give us a real chance. Even if we are an ocean away." Mick silenced Emily with a solitary kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

"No tears." Mick said gently as he wiped away Emily's tears. They were standing in the middle of Heathrow Airport waiting for Mick's flight to be called. Emily was constantly wiping her tears away while Kehlani's eyes were filled to the brim with unshed tears. The mom in Emily knew the second that Mick got on the plane, she'd have a full out tantrum. Kehlani was a relatively good baby, but she'd became extremely attached to Mick. She was so attached that Emily knew she'd be a handful to deal with for the next few days….maybe longer.

Emily tried to mask her sadness but Mick saw right through it. She felt like every time she was happy, it was ripped from her. Standing in the middle of the airport, she knew that she'd truly fallen for Mick. She felt the firm grip of Mick's hand on her hip and looked up to meet his eyes. He looked from her to Kehlani, whose bottom lip was poked out as far as it would go. He picked the little girl up and she immediately buried her head in his neck. Mick learned quickly that it was her favorite place to be whenever he held her. He brushed his hand through some of her curls and kissed the top of her head. "Hey little one. I'm going to call you every chance I get and come back to visit you. I need you to be good for your mom and take care of her while I'm gone." His last sentence was raw with emotion as he tried to swallow down his own tears.

Emily wiped her tears away once again as Mick turned and pulled her close to him. Emily immediately melted against Mick's embrace and gripped him tighter against her. Mick's hold on Emily let her know that he was hurting just as bad as she was. Emily felt a couple of Mick's tears hit her shoulder and pulled back to wipe his tears away. "We'll be okay. I promise."

Mick kissed Emily with all his pent-up anguish while she quickly returned it. She parted her lips and felt Mick's tongue probe her mouth. They intertwined their tongues and got truly lost in the moment. Kehlani was oblivious to the two and kept her head buried in Mick's neck. The sound of Mick's flight being called broke the two apart. They rested their foreheads together and both held back tears. Emily attempted to take Kehlani back, but the one-year-old wasn't having it.

After several attempts, she finally got Kehlani in her arms but the little girl fought to get back to Mick. Mick's heart broke when he noticed just how much Kehlani wanted to be close to him. He blinked furiously to make his tears go away. Mick kissed Emily and Kehlani one last time and pulled back slowly. She turned to walk away quickly just as Kehlani let out a wail. She reached over Emily's shoulder and cried in Mick's direction. Her tears finally fell and she cried out while reaching for him. Mick wanted to just run and gather them both in his arms and comfort them, but he knew he had to go back to D.C.

Emily tried to soothe Kehlani as they left the airport. She made it as far as the exit before she completely broke down into sobs. The mother-daughter duo where both dissolving into tears as passersby looked on in concern. A woman was about to approach them but stopped as a slim woman jogged in their direction. "Emily sweetie it's okay."

Emily looked up at the sound of her mother's voice and immediately gave into her embrace. "I want him back." "I know baby, I know." Elizabeth Prentiss gathered her daughter and granddaughter in her arms and walked them towards her car. After being in the car for about 15 minutes, Emily asked "How did you know where we were?"

"I got a text from someone named Mick. He told me that he'd be leaving today and that the two of you would need a ride home. Is he your boyfriend?"

Emily rubbed her red eyes and looked in the backseat before answering. She noticed that Kehlani had cried herself to sleep and it broke her heart.

"If you count being on different continents as dating." "Obliviously he cares or he wouldn't have known that the two of you would be visibly upset. You must care about him to be crying outside of the airport. Lani obviously cares about him because she cried her eyes out when he left. For what it's worth, you deserve to be loved Emily, whether you believe it or not."

"I wasn't supposed to care about him this much."

"I was the same way with your father."

"He's an oversexed, egotistical, arrogant Brit that turned out to be amazingly sweet, thoughtful, caring, and so great with Lani. I really miss him. How are we supposed to work when I live here and he lives in D.C.?"

"If the bond is strong enough, then you'll make it, trust me. When I first met your father, I was a senior in college and he had already graduated. We were on two completely different career paths and at one point we were on different continents. Your father was in Sydney, Australia and I was in Winnipeg, Canada." Elizabeth paused at the shocked expression on her daughter's face and chuckled at the expression before continuing.

"For three years, we dated while living in Winnipeg and Sydney. It was not easy. Trust issues and commitment came to the surface but the both of us knew that we'd be miserable if we didn't stay on our career paths. We both knew that if we were to just give in early in the relationship, then we wouldn't last as a couple. We got engaged when your father was in Shanghai and I was in Germany on assignment. The deciding factor in our relationship was after we got married and I got pregnant with you."

"Not to interrupt but what's your point?" "My point is that what brought us closer together was you. You and Mick are ahead of that because you have Kehlani. I don't think that it'll take the two of you as long as it took us because your bond seems stronger. Not to mention that Kehlani loves him."

Emily gave a small sigh and looked out the window and whispered, "I think I do too."


	9. Chapter 9

**3 months later**

"Mama. Mama. Mama."

"I'm coming sweet girl." Emily said as she exited the kitchen to get her, now awake, daughter. "Hey Lani! How's mama's angel today?" Emily was met with an array of spit bubbles and small giggles. It had been exactly 3 months to the day that Mick had to go back to D.C. and leave Emily and Kehlani in London. The first two months were horrible for the Prentiss girls. Kehlani would barely sleep and Emily would barely eat. Mick kept good on his promise and called them every chance he could. The line of communication was open and regular, something that Emily was eternally grateful for. Last week, Mick told Emily that he'd be coming back to London for his parents' vow renewal and practically begged her to attend.

She was hesitant to meet Mick's family because she didn't want to be judged. Emily knew that it would either go very right or very wrong. If things went wrong, then she wouldn't want Kehlani attached to anyone else. After Mick's pleading for nearly an hour, she finally gave in and agreed to come. Right now, she was nearly finished packing her and Kehlani's bags for an extended weekend in Mick's family cabin. Emily was allotted a week's vacation, due to the fact that she never missed work, so she planned on taking advantage of the entire week.

Kehlani was walking and talking a lot more now than when Mick last saw her in person. Emily got her dressed and ducked into her own closet to quickly get dressed. Mick's flight would be landing soon, so Emily grabbed Kehlani and their bags and headed to the airport. Mick saw Emily and Kehlani before they saw him. Kehlani was a bit taller and her hair was nearly down her back and still curly. She was wearing a ladybug dress with matching red tights and sandals. He looked at Emily and fell in love all over again. Her hair had gotten longer as well, but she had the majority of it pinned up. She was wearing another jumpsuit and high heels. Mick walked over to the two with a huge grin on his face. "Hey my girls."

Kehlani's shriek was deafening before she ran, as fast as she could, to Mick. He kneeled down just as she ran into his outstretched arms. He picked her up and peppered kisses all over her face. She did the same thing to Mick and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She looked over to Emily and smiled shyly while her head was still burrowed in Mick's neck. "Hey I still have room for you."

She stood completely still for about a half a second before throwing herself into his arms. The grin Emily had nearly split her face in two but she didn't care one bit. She pulled back and kissed Mick passionately. She felt his smirk and pushed her tongue into his mouth. She felt Mick's tongue move slowly against hers and couldn't help the involuntary moan that escaped. She pulled back purely out of desperation to breathe and smiled widely at Mick.

"I missed you." Emily whispered against Mick's lips. He pulled her closer to him, "Trust me, I missed the two of you more. Now come on girls, you get to meet the Rawsons." Emily bit her bottom lip nervously, "Yeah about that."

Mick shot her a pleading look, "Please don't tell me you're backing out?" "Mick it's your family and I don't-"

"They'll love you, especially my mom." "Mick you're her baby. She loves you unconditionally; that doesn't apply to me."

Mick silenced her with a kiss. "And you're my baby just like little one here. She'll love the both of you because I do. That's all that matters."

"And what if she doesn't?" "Then I'll have to tell my mother that I love her dearly and respect her opinion but that I can't agree with it because I'm crazy about you and I'm never letting this little beauty go."

Emily blinked back tears and smiled at Mick before leaning in to kiss him again. They walked out of the airport hand in hand while Emily's head rested on Mick's shoulder. When the pair reached Emily's car, Mick grabbed for the keys and put all their bags in the trunk while Emily strapped in Kehlani. She got into the passenger side and Mick climbed into the driver's side. He grabbed Emily's hand and kissed each one of her knuckles lightly. "You ready?"

Emily gave Mick a small smile, "I'm ready." Mick looked in the rearview mirror. "Ready little one?"

"Rewdy!" Kehlani said enthusiastically. "Well let's get this show on the road", Mick said with a smile.

After about two hours, Mick pulled up to a rustic cabin that was definitely off the beaten path. He parked the car next to several others cars and turned off the engine. "Well the rest of the gang's here." Mick snuck a glance at Emily's nervous expression. He grabbed her hand again and kissed it. "Remember, the both of you are my babies and that's all that matters." "That's all that matters."

Mick turned around in his seat and was surprised that Kehlani wasn't asleep. She looked at him and smiled widely. "Howse?" "Yeah, that's a house. You want to go inside?" Kehlani nodded eagerly. Mick laughed and got out the car. Emily went to around to the trunk but Mick stopped her just as she got it open. "Don't even think about it." "I can carry bags you know?" "Oh I know, but I was taught manners and my parents would kill me. You take the little ladybug and I'll take the bags." Emily rolled her eyes laughing and grabbed Kehlani. The trio walked up to the door and it swung open before Mick could raise his hand. "Mick!"

"Mum. It's so good to see you." Emily stepped to the side slightly to let Mick's mom envelope him in a huge hug. She released him and looked to Emily with a wide smile. "Mick, you told me that Emily was pretty but you didn't tell me that she was downright gorgeous." Emily turned a deep hue of red and looked down at her shoes. She looked back up and met the humorous smiles of Mick and his mom.

"My name is Nina." Emily extended her hand, "Emily."

Nina diverted her attention and her smile got even bigger, if that was possible. "And you must be Kehlani. Hi there little ladybug."

"I'm Lani!" Kehlani said with a proud smile.

 _ **A/N: Next couple of chapters will be at the cabin with Mick's family.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Kehlani reached out for Mick as his father came to the door. Archer Rawson was a tall dark-haired man with a friendly smile. The older gentleman extended his hand to Emily. "I'm Archer but you can call me Archie. You must be Emily and this little beauty must be Kehlani."

Kehlani blushed from Mick's shoulder. Before Emily could say anything, Mick's parents grabbed their bags and ushered them into the cabin. Emily felt her mind drifting off to another place. _A getaway with Mick in a place like this would be amazing. Relax Emily, you've got to get past his family first. His parents are in love with Lani but they could just as easily hate you._

Mick nudged Emily's hip with his and watched her fluster and blush slightly. "You good?" "Yeah sorry. I was in another world." "No kidding."

Just then two more women walked into the large living room. Mick smiled widely before introducing the women to Emily and Kehlani. "Em, Lani these are my sisters Jenna and Jeanine. I'm pretty sure Simon, Jeanine's husband, is around here somewhere. Where are the boys?"

Mick was busy looking for more people that Emily could only assume were his other relatives. She felt eyes beaming at her and looked up only to see a look of pure contempt on Jeanine's face. _Great you're here five minutes and one of his sisters already hates you._

Emily jumped slightly at the sound of a loud thump from upstairs. "Uncle Mick!"

Emily watched as three little boys, all different ages, came bounding down the stairs. They nearly knocked Mick over and Emily immediately went to grab Kehlani but Mick wasn't having it. He held Kehlani tighter with one arm and wrestled with his nephews with his other. Emily smiled and relaxed slightly, but that was short-lived when she jumped a mile in the air after feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to scare you dear. Mick wouldn't dare let those rowdy boys hurt her. He's just as protective as you are with Kehlani. Besides, she seems to be having a good time too." Nina said as she walked into the living room and sat down. Emily looked at Mick and broke into a huge grin when she saw Kehlani laughing just as loudly as the boys were. After the majority of the ruckus died down, Mick introduced Emily to his nephews. "Em, these are my nephews Nico, Austin, and Neil. Nico is Jenna's and these other two rascals belong to Jeanine."

Emily resisted the urge to look over at Mick's sisters because she felt Jeanine's eyes on her. The youngest boy, Nico, walked over to Emily, so she kneeled down to his level. "Hi I'm Nico. I'm 5."

Emily gave Nico a wide smile and he blushed and looked to the ground. "Hi Nico. I'm Emily." she extended her hand and he shook it firmly. "Nice handshake", Emily said with a smile. "Thanks. Uncle Mick taught me."

Jeanine had fire in her eyes and a death grip on her boys. It was obvious that she wanted them nowhere near Emily. Jenna pulled the boys closer to her, forcing Jeanine to let go of them, and let them go over to Emily to say hello. It didn't go unnoticed by Emily and she even saw Archie throwing daggers with his eyes towards his daughter. Emily immediately felt uncomfortable but didn't say anything to Mick about it. Emily smiled as Austin and Neil made their way over to her and shook her hand. Austin, the oldest of the boys, tapped Emily on the shoulder. "Could we play with your little girl? I promise we'll be careful. She's the only other kid here besides us and we want her to feel like she can play with us if she wants to. Kehlani will be around more right?" Emily tried to form a response but Neil cut her off. "Uncle Mick said that you guys- I mean girls- will be sticking around for a while." Emily looked from the two proud boys and over to Mick, who was blushing furiously and avoiding her gaze, before turning back around and smiling. "I think it's absolutely fine if you guys play with Kehlani." Emily laughed as they all high-fived each other and briefly wondered if Jeanine let them have much interaction with other kids.

Mick put Kehlani on the floor and she immediately took off after the boys. They didn't go far, so all the adults had a watchful eye on them. They pulled out various toy trains and cars and Kehlani's shrieks of excitement let everyone know that she was having a blast. Jenna could feel her sister fuming, not that she knew why, and decide to start some adult conversation. "So, Emily Mick says that you run Interpol. That's so cool!"

For a second time, Mick looked almost bashful. Emily chuckled before saying, "I used to do the same thing that Mick did before I came to London to work for Interpol." Jenna spoke up and bitterly spat out, "So you were on Mick's team. Isn't sleeping with a team member against rules or something?"

Everyone's eyes, except Emily's, went wide as their mouths hung open. "Actually, I was on a different team. I didn't meet Mick until I had been on my team 4 years. To answer your question, yes it is against the rules to date within the bureau but that doesn't apply to Mick and I. We've only been together since I've been at Interpol, so we aren't doing anything wrong."

Mick looked at his sister with a smug smile and he pulled Emily closer to him. Archie and Jenna were both smirking and Nina was smiling slightly and doing a horrible job at hiding it. Jeanine stood up and stomped off in the direction of the kitchen. Jenna rolled her eyes and went after her sister. Emily felt Mick rubbing gentle circles up and down her arm but it did nothing to make her feel better. _How are you supposed to survive four more days in this cabin if you can't even be civil with his sister. Make it right Emily. Sisters shouldn't act that way. You're an only child, how would you know how siblings act? Make it right Emily._

"Hey you okay?" Mick asked with concern. Emily leaned into his side, "I'm okay. I just need to do something first." Mick was about to respond but his mother caught his attention. "Mick take your bags up to your room. I wasn't sure where you guys wanted Kehlani to sleep, so I set up Nico's old bed in your room." Mick nodded his head and followed his mother's instructions.

Emily stopped at the entrance of the kitchen when she heard hush voices. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop and turned to walk away, but stopped when she heard her name.

"Why do you hate Emily so much? She makes Mick happy." Jenna asked.

"Because she isn't right for him. She'll never be good enough for Mick. She is just some woman with the baggage of a kid and God knows what else. She's just going to bring him down and she'll never survive in this family. Mick bringing them here is a joke. She's just a sex toy for Mick until he gets bored. I mean come on, do you see the way she's dressed? Who comes to a cabin in a form fitting outfit and heels. She is just temporary arm candy and we all know it. I'll be glad when Mick's done dealing with this joke of a relationship." Jenna stared at her sister with wide eyes as Jeanine proudly turned her nose in the air.

Emily stood in the doorway and felt the tears pour over and spill out onto her cheeks.


	11. Chapter 11

Emily turned on her heels and rushed out the front door. By the time she got to her car, she crouched down near her trunk and cried openly. She made sure not to make too much noise and tried to calm herself down. She wiped her face and checked in the side mirror that her makeup didn't look too bad before walking back towards the cabin.

Inside the cabin, Jenna and Jeanine were seconds away from a war of words. "What the hell is your problem? How could you say that stuff about Emily?" Jenna furiously asked. "Was I wrong?" "Yeah you were." "I was merely speaking the truth. You have blinders on because she's got a cute kid. Wake up and smell the coffee Jenna." Jeanine started to walk off but Jenna roughly grabbed her arm. "Is this you talking or your husband?" Jeanine's eyes went wide and Jenna knew that she hit a nerve but didn't care.

"You never acted like this until you met Simon." "Don't talk about my husband! At least I'm married and didn't get pregnant from a being a sloppy party girl. Try finding a husband before you try to attack mine." It took all the self-control Jenna had to not just explode on her sister. Both women angrily stomped off in opposite directions. Emily quietly came back into the house and went right up to her and Mick's room. Emily opened the door slowly and saw that Kehlani was asleep in a crib. She heard the shower going and figured Mick was taking a long shower after the long day of traveling. Emily walked over to her daughter and looked at her peaceful, sleeping frame. She felt her eyes water, "I'll never let anyone hurt you my angel." She turned and looked for her bag and found it under the bed and empty. She put it on queen-sized bed and went over the largest oak chest against the wall. She grabbed all of her and Kehlani's clothes that Mick must've put away. She went to the closet and grabbed their shoes and put all their belongings back into their bags.

She felt awful for leaving without talking to Mick but she didn't feel welcomed anymore. She balanced their bags on one arm and gingerly picked a sleeping Kehlani up with the other one. Emily turned and looked at the bathroom door once more before walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Nico saw her first and looked up with sad eyes. He walked over to Emily and whispered, "You're leaving?" Emily didn't trust her voice, so she gave Nico a sad smile and nodded her head. She walked out the front door and loaded their bags into the trunk. Mick finally got out the shower and walked out the bathroom absentmindedly whistling. He walked further into the room and felt his heartrate pick up. The crib was empty and a few drawers on his chest were slightly opened. He looked in the dresser and found it empty as well as the closet. He raced to get dressed and sprinted down the stairs and out the front door; Emily had just gotten Kehlani buckled in and was about to get into the driver's side.

"Emily. Emily wait a second", Mick called out. Emily felt the tears well up again but refused to turn around to face Mick. "Baby what's wrong? Why are you leaving? Emily please talk to me." When Emily didn't move an inch, Mick turned her to face him. It was then that he saw her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Emily what's wrong? I can't fix it if you won't tell me what's wrong." Emily shook her head and fanned her tears away. "I don't belong here", she whispered out. "Sweetheart of course you belong here. My family adores you." "No, they don't. This was a mistake."

"Baby I'm sorry if I sprung this trip on you too soon but we can still salvage this time we have together." Emily shook her head before hanging it low and letting her tears fall. "Not this trip. All of this was a mistake. We were a mistake." Mick felt his heart shatter and felt his own eyes well up with tears. "Don't say that Em. You don't mean it." Emily didn't respond but Mick saw the gentle shaking of body and heard the quiet sobbing. He grabbed her face in his hands and lifted her head so that he could see her eyes. "Emily I love you. I love you so much that it hurts." Emily let more tears fall before she pried his hands from her face, "Sometimes love isn't enough. You deserve someone better than me." "There isn't anyone better for me. You're the only one I want, the only one that I need."

Emily pulled away from Mick completely and got in her car. She started the engine and looked at Mick. "I am so sorry. I'm sorry you wasted your time on us. You deserve someone without baggage. You need someone that won't bring you down. I'm sorry Mick." Mick broke down right then and pleaded with Emily. "Please don't leave me Emily. I'm begging you. I can't bear losing you and Kehlani. Baby please don't leave. We can fix whatever is wrong I promise."

Emily wiped her tears once more, "Don't make promises you can't keep. No one can fix me." Mick watched with a tear rolling down his cheek as Emily backed out of the driveway and pulled off. He watched as the two most important people in his life, vanished in the blink of an eye. After what felt like an eternity, Mick dragged himself back into the cabin. His mother had a sullen Nico on her hip and looked at Mick as he walked into the cabin. "Where's Emily and Kehlani?" Mick started walking up the stairs and stopped to say. "They're gone. I lost them and they're never coming back." Nina stood in shock until she heard Mick's door slam loudly.

"Told you nana. I told you that they left because Miss Emily was sad", Nico said as he looked up to his grandmother. Jenna stood near the fireplace and felt the guilt come down tenfold _She heard us._ She had an internal battle with herself all throughout dinner. She couldn't stop staring at the two empty chairs and the empty highchair. Mick refused to come down to dinner and after a while Jenna went up to Mick's room. When she knocked, he didn't answer so she opened the door slowly and her heart broke. Mick had cried himself to sleep and Jenna felt like she was partly responsible for his pain. She walked over to him and softly rubbed her fingers across Mick's dried tear tracks. He murmured Emily in his sleep and Jenna felt him start to stir. She pulled her hand back as he shot up in the bed. "Emily? Emily?"

Mick slowly turned his head and came face-to-face with his sister. "Jenna what are you doing in here?" "I think I know why Emily left."


	12. Chapter 12

"Why did she leave? Jenna tell me now why Emily left." Mick ordered as he fully sat up in bed.

"Jeanine and I were in the kitchen talking. She said some pretty nasty things about Emily and your relationship with her. I think that Emily may have heard us but I'm not sure if she heard us or not."

"What was Jeanine saying?" "Mick-" "Tell me Jenna. What was she saying?" "She said that Emily had the baggage of a kid. She said that she was just arm candy for you until you got bored. And she said that she was only going to bring you down." Jenna left out the part were Jeanine called Emily a sex toy for Mick.

"Why would she say something like that?" Mick asked as his voice raised slightly. "I don't know. I accused her of being influenced by Simon and she freaked out." "Did he say something to Emily?" "No. The first time he showed his face since he got here was at dinner last night. I doubt she ever saw him. Do you think that Jeanine's been different since Simon came into the picture?"

Mick stood and grabbed a small bag before heading into the closet. "Honestly I don't know or really care in this moment. I live in the States and you guys don't. I wouldn't have as much interaction as you would. All I care about right now is finding Emily and Kehlani and fixing this entire mess." "Do you even know where she is?" "No. no I don't." "You don't even have a car. I can drive you if you want." "Thanks Jen." "It's the least I could do. I'm really sorry that she heard that stuff that was said."

Mick finished packing a small bag and looked at Jenna as she stood in the doorway. They shared brief eye contact before she opened the door, "I'll get Nico and then we can go."

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Emily sat in the middle of the bed letting her tears roll down her face. When she left the cabin she just kept driving and at one point, she got lost. She wound up pulling into a safe-looking lodge and booked a room. She couldn't stop thinking about how hurt Mick was when she left. _You did the right thing by leaving. You are a train wreck and you would've only hurt him in the long run._ Emily watched Kehlani absently play with her bear that Mick bought. Ever since he gave her the bear, Kehlani went nowhere without it. Emily tucked her legs underneath her body and toyed with her necklace. She's never taken her necklace off since Mick gave it to her. She reached over to the small table and grabbed the photo album that she'd been putting together. The first picture was of when she was 8 months pregnant with Kehlani. It was then that she was finally okay with the fact that she was having Doyle's baby. The next picture was moments after she gave birth to Kehlani. She was unaware of the camera and smiling brightly at the small bundle in her arms. The next was of Kehlani playing in her playpen.

Emily kept flipping through the photo album until she stopped and ran her fingers across the photo. It was of Mick and Kehlani at the Science Museum. Emily's lip quivered and sniffed as she kept going through the photos. The last dozen of them had Mick in each one of them. The last one was of the three of them at a light show. Mick asked someone to take their picture. They were seated on the ground; Emily was in-between Mick's legs and Kehlani was in-between hers. They were all smiling brightly.

Emily wiped her tears and sniffled loudly. Kehlani turned around and crawled over to Emily. She reached up a wiped away Emily's tears. "No cry mommy."

XXXxxxXx

Mick and Jenna had been driving for about an hour before Mick's phone started ringing. "Hello. Yeah it's me. Are you sure? Okay thank you."

"What is it?" Jenna asked as she glanced at Mick from the driver's seat. "Emily's at a lodge about a mile and a half up the road." Jenna nodded and kept driving. When they pulled into the lodge, Jenna looked at Mick, "I can wait here for a little bit in case you need me." "Okay thanks."

Mick got out the car and walked to Emily's room and knocked on the door. Emily looked at the door in confusion before her cop instincts kicked in. She knew that no one should know where she was and that the lodge manager said that he wouldn't bother her. She was on high alert before she heard that voice….his voice.

"Emily it's me. Please open the door." She hesitated for a second before opening the door slightly. Mick breathed a sigh of relief before actually taking a moment to look her over. She had dark circles under her red rimmed eyes and she looked like she'd break down and cry at that very moment. "You came to find me", Emily said just a little above a whisper. Mick took a step closer to Emily and cupped her face in his hands. "I'll always come for you." Emily leaned into his touch and closed her eyes, hoping that this moment wouldn't end.

"Daddy!" Kehlani shrieked out. Both Mick and Emily were stunned. She wiggled her way off the low bed and ran towards Mick. He let go of Emily and knelt down to catch her. "Hi little one. Did you miss me?" Kehlani nodded and buried her head in Mick's neck. "Daddy no go." Mick felt Kehlani's tears hit his neck and pulled back. "Don't cry little one."

Kehlani whispered out, "No go daddy. No go." "Daddy? Do you want me to be your daddy?"

Kehlani nodded her head and hugged Mick's neck tighter. Mick looked at Emily as she stood in the doorway with stray tears rolling down her face. He put Kehlani on the bed and walked over to Emily. "She called me daddy." Emily gave Mick a watery smile and wiped away his few tears with her thumb. She stepped closer to him, "She knows who she loves. Now you've won her heart. You sure you ready for all this?" "Emily I love you both so much. The two of you are all I want for as long as you'll have me."

"I love you Mick." "I love you too Emily, so much." "I swear if you hurt us-"

"Shh shh. I would never hurt either one of you and I won't let anyone else hurt you either. I'm never letting the two of you go ever again."

"Kehlani!" Nico beamed out before running past Emily and Mick and straight towards the bed. Emily and Mick backed away from each other a little bit. Jenna reached the door slightly out of breath and said, "I'm sorry. He had to go to the bathroom." Emily immediately went on the defense and backed away from Jenna. Jenna stepped closer to Emily. "I am so sorry that you heard what was said in the kitchen."

Emily chewed on her lip slightly before responding. "You didn't have to stick up for me. Why did you do it?" "Are you kidding? You won over Nico, which is not an easy feat, so in my book you are a part of this family. Don't worry about Jeanine. She's got her own insecurities that she's got to work through. Emily you have my brother's heart and that means more to me than you realize. Mick worries about all of us but never himself. Falling in love with you and Kehlani has been the best thing for him in a long time."

The three adults turned around and looked at Nico and Kehlani playing on the bed. "I could take the kids and give you two some alone time to keep talking", Jenna suggested. Emily hesitated before answering, "I don't want her back at the cabin without me."

"I wasn't talking about the cabin. I was talking about the owner's office. There's a playground and about four other kids in there." Jenna said with a smile. Emily looked at Mick to see him with the same smile. "Why are you two smiling? What aren't you saying?"

"The owner of this lodge is our Uncle Kevin." Mick said with a laugh. Emily put her hands on her hips and shook her head in disbelief. "Well that explains how you knew where I was and why Kevin kept smiling at me." "Yeah that's my mom's fault. Ever since I told her about you and Kehlani, she's been talking to the entire family about you guys. My uncle probably recognized you from my mom's description and decided to tease you a little."

"Yeah I guess it's fine if you take her and Nico for a little bit." Emily said before walking over to Kehlani and picking her up. "Lani, you want to go play with Nico for a little bit?" She nodded yes but asked, "Daddy leaving?" Mick walked over to Kehlani and kissed her on the cheek. "Daddy and mommy are just going to talk for a little bit. I'll still be here I promise."

Kehlani seemed satisfied with that answer and let Jenna pick her up before the three of them left Mick and Emily in the cabin alone. Mick locked the door and turned to face Emily, who stood motionless against the wall. "Em, baby are you okay?" "You promise that you love us and aren't going anywhere?"

Mick walked over to Emily and kept walking until they were chest to chest. "I promise that with every breath in my body I'll be around for as long as I'm alive." Emily tilted her head up and could feel Mick's breath on her lips. "Good. Now make love to me." "Are you sure? We can wait."

Emily pulled Mick by his shirt and said, "I don't want to wait anymore" before she kissed him. Mick kissed back immediately and tangled his hands up in her hair. She moaned into his mouth and fisted her hands in the thin material of his shirt. She whimpered when he pulled away only to latch onto her neck. Emily moaned out loud as she felt Mick wrap his hands around her waist. He pulled her from the wall and guided her to stand in the middle of the room. Mick kneeled down in front of Emily. He grabbed the waistband of her yoga pants and pulled them down until they were around her ankles. He peppered kisses across her pelvic bone. Mick kissed every inch of the front of Emily's thighs and legs. He helped her step out of her pants and turned her around. He started to trail featherlight kisses up the back of Emily's legs. When he started to nibble on her ass, Emily's knees buckled, but Mick held her steady. He grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head before throwing it across the room. His kisses continued up the base of her spine. He took a quick detour and kissed the length of her scar before going back to the middle of her spine. By the time he stood up behind her, Emily's body was trembling. "Are you okay sweetheart?"

Emily turned around and smiled. "I'm perfect. I've never had someone take their time with me." Mick didn't respond and instead started to kiss along her collarbone and down towards her breasts. He gently bit the swells of her breasts, causing her to moan appreciatively. Mick reached behind Emily to unclasp her bra. He held her bra in place as he tenderly kissed her abdomen. Once he finished his task, he let her bra drop to the floor. Mick was staring in Emily's eyes, silently asking for permission. She leaned forward and kissed him passionately. Mick took that as a yes and drop his eyes so that he could appreciate the view. He took one of her hardened nipples in his mouth and sucked gently before picking up the pace. He showed her twin the same attention with his hand and Emily felt the pool of heat in-between her legs. Emily felt her legs turn to jelly just from Mick's mouth and hand.

Mick caught her just as her legs gave out. He smirked at her and she returned his smirk with a bright smile. Mick sat Emily on the bed; she reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head. She licked her lips at the sight of Mick's very fit body. She reached for his belt and slowly undid it before massaging the bulge in his pants. Mick let out a groan and gripped onto the bed for support. "Baby you have to stop or this will be over really quick." Emily pouted but stop stroking Mick's length through his pants and just inched them off his hips instead. He helped her undress him and moved back on top of her. He kissed down her torso until he reached the apex of her thighs. Mick hooked his fingers in the thin lace material and pulled them down at a snail's pace. When he finally took Emily's underwear completely off , he decided to tease her. "I believe you once said that my palette needed work."

Emily was about to respond but it came out in a strangled cry as Mick's tongue dipped in-between her thighs. She started squirming as Mick assaulted her core with his very skilled tongue. Mick sucked vigorously on Emily's clit and snuck a finger into her core. "Ohhh. Right there baby." Mick started to curl his finger inside of her before sneaking two more in. Emily cried out in surprise and pleasure as Mick brought her closure to her climax. Mick felt Emily's walls tighten around his fingers and he started to bit on her clit. Her body clamped around his fingers like a vice and she screamed her release. "Mick Mick Mick." Mick's name tumbled from Emily's lip in a chant. It was the only thing her brain could process in that moment.

Mick moved up her body and kissed her gently on lips. Emily opened her eyes and deepened the kiss. She could taste herself on his lips and loved every minute of it. She reached in between their bodies and gave Mick's cock a few long strokes. She heard his breath catch and gave him a saucy smirk and a wink. "You're trying to kill me." "I need to feel you inside of me."

Mick removed Emily's hand from his prick and position himself at her entrance. Even though he was pushing into her slowly, she was incredibly tight. Emily dug her nails into Mick's back and bit down on his lip. He tried to pull out some, but Emily moved her hands down to his ass and pushed him back in. She was enjoying every moment bordering the line between pleasure and pain. Her and Mick picked up a steady rhythm. She felt her own wetness run down her thighs and onto the mattress. _It's been way too long Em._ The only sounds in the room were Mick's groans of pleasure, Emily's whimpers and pleas for more, and the wet slapping of skin. Emily's orgasm took her by surprise and she cried out Mick's name as she came around him. Mick kept up his steady pace and pulled Emily's ankles up and rested them on his shoulders. The new position caused him to push even deeper into her. Emily thought that her eyes would roll into the back of her head at the sensation of Mick filling her so completely. His grunts picked up as Emily felt him grow even bigger inside of her. It was all too much and Emily dug her nails into Mick's forearms as she shook and came around him once again. Mick pumped inside of Emily a few more times before releasing his load deep inside of her. His body trembled as they both came down from their highs. Mick pulled out of Emily and collapsed next to her on the bed. She was still panting and could only lazily smile at him.

After a few minutes, Emily broke the silence, "That was incredible but next time I'm on top." Mick looked at her and laughed. "Yes ma'am. Now come here." He pulled her into him and kissed her lips sweetly. Emily laid her head down on his chest and traced circles on his stomach. Mick ran a hand through her bed tussled hair and kissed the crown of her head. "Baby I'm really sorry about what my sister said about you." "Honestly I can only imagine the reactions after I tell my old team."

"You think they'll be worse than Jeanine?" "I don't know. It's possible. They're very protective of me." "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Emily snuggled up to Mick until she started to shiver. He pulled the comforter up around her shoulders. "Still cold?" "Yeah." "Here you can put this on." Emily smiled and grabbed Mick's warm shirt and pulled it over her head. She snuggled back into Mick's side and started to drift. After about a half hour, Mick heard Emily's breathing even out and knew that she was asleep. He looked down at her peaceful face and watched her sleep. She looked so carefree and innocent. The weight of the world wasn't on her shoulders anymore and Mick loved seeing her like this. He heard a light knock on the door and quickly but quietly got out the bed and walked to the door. Emily stirred slightly in her sleep but turned back over and cuddled into the pillow Mick was on.

He pulled on a t-shirt from his bag and opened the door. Jenna stood on the other side of the threshold with a smirk and a sleeping Kehlani on her shoulder. She looked past him and saw Emily asleep in his shirt. "So, I guess you guys made up?" "Yeah you could say that." "She fell asleep on the swing actually. It was pretty cute. One minute she was laughing and then she was conked out." "Where's Nico?"

"He's in the car asleep. Uncle Kevin says hi. Tell you what, you guys decide whether or not you want to come back to the cabin. If you do, then we'll be waiting for you. If you don't, then at least come to the ceremony or send mom and dad a gift. Whatever your choice, I'm behind you brother." Mick leaned in to kiss Jenna on the cheek before grabbing Kehlani. "Thanks Jenna, for everything." "You would've done the same thing for me. Go enjoy being with your girls. Me and my guy are heading back to the cabin; someone's got to ease mom's mind before she loses it." "Be safe." "I will."

Mick closed and locked the door and walked back over to the bed. He took Kehlani out of her play clothes and laid her down in-between him and Emily. He made sure that she had her bear before kissing her head and lying down next to his two favorite girls. Morning came quickly as the sunlight assaulted Emily's eyes. She looked over at Mick and Kehlani and smiled. Mick was stretched out wide with his mouth hanging open slightly. Kehlani was nearly a mirror image except her mouth was closed. Emily got out of the bed silently and went to grab her phone. She snapped a quick picture of the two just as they started to wake up. She got back into bed and let Mick wrap his arms around her while Kehlani smacked his face. "Em, do you want to go back to the cabin?" "You mean do I want to deal with your sister?" "Yeah that." "Can we table this for now?"

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"Good morning mom." Jenna said as she walked into the kitchen. "Morning. Have you talked to your brother?" "Yeah sure I have." "Today is the ceremony. Is he at least going to show up?"

In that moment, Jeanine and Simon came into the living room with their boys. Archie spoke up from the kitchen. "We need to head out pretty soon if we're going to get to the site in enough time." Nina's lip quivered, "Without Mick?" "Nina he's a grown man that can make his own decisions."

"Of course he'd chose to go against his own family for a-" "Shut up Jeanine!", Jenna shouted at her sister.

Archie tuned out his daughters and had a gentle hand at the base of his wife's spine. As the Rawsons stepped outside the cabin, Jenna and Nico's faces broke out into wide grins. Emily and Mick were leaned against her car with a hyper Kehlani sitting on Mick's shoulders. Nina raced down the few steps and pulled Mick and Emily into a bone-crushing hug. "My baby boy. I knew you'd come." "Wouldn't miss it for the world mom."

"Why are you here?" Jeanine spat out in disgust as she looked at Emily. Mick was about to speak up but Emily fired back. "I believe we were supposed to be heading to your parents' renewal ceremony or are we supposed to be tuning in to the Jeanine show?" Jenna chuckled and grabbed Nico's hand before going down the steps and heading for the car. "Nice one girly", she said as she fist bumped Emily.

Archie walked down towards the car, "That's my boy. You went back and got both your girls. Can I pick you up sweetheart?" he asked as he reached out to Kehlani. She smiled and reached for Archie. Nina turned around and look at a fuming Jeanine and Simon. "You two coming or not?"


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: I know the delay in this story has been long. Life has gotten in the way and I apologize for that. I'll try to update more often. Happy reading.**_

"It's so beautiful here" Emily said out loud with a wistful sigh. Emily felt Mick wrap his arms around her from behind and rest his head on her shoulder. "You ever think about that?" Mick asked while motioning towards his parents, who were slow dancing together. "Sometimes, but I'm smart enough to know to be a realist." "Well I could _really_ give you that someday if you let me." Mick said in a low voice against Emily's neck. She didn't turn in his arms but leaned back against his body, "You want to marry me?" Mick dropped a kiss to just under Emily's ear and stood up straighter. "Yes. Someday I would like to, if you let me. I told you that I wasn't going anywhere and that I wasn't going to leave you or Lani's life. My question is would you want to put up with my family for a lifetime?" Emily grabbed Mick's hands, that were still around her, and turned her head and kissed his lips softly. "Your dad is the dad that I always wished I had growing up. Your mom, God, your mom is such a sweetheart and so loving and accepting. Jenna is so funny and protective. Nico is a rocking little guy that lights up her and Lani's world. You, you are Lani's whole world. She doesn't do anything without her bear, that she now calls Micky Bear. You are a father to her and I can't thank you enough for that." Emily paused during her little speech to rest her arms on Mick's shoulders. "Now Jeanine and Simone are another story. Their boys are really sweet but they are…" Emily said with an exasperated expression on her face.

"I'm sorry about that. I really am. Jeanine is just-" Mick stopped talking when he saw the look on Emily's face. "What is it?" Emily shook her head. "No come on now Em. Don't shut me out. I know that the wheels have been turning in your head since you met her. What are you thinking?" Emily had her bottom lip securely pulled between her teeth. She let out a sigh and grabbed Mick's hand and dragged him towards a quieter place nearby. "Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe Jeanine is a victim?" "Victim?" "Mick don't take this the wrong way but has anyone ever thought that maybe Simon did something or is holding something over Jeanine's head?" "No I haven't. Do you think something happened?" "I don't know but it's just a vibe I've been getting from her." "Why didn't you say anything to me?" "Because it wasn't my place just like it still isn't. You asked me a question so I answered."

Emily started to pull away from Mick but he pulled her back. "I'm sorry that this feeling you've been getting from my sister is making you uncomfortable. I don't want to ruin this feeling that we have right now. Dance with me?" Emily smiled and grabbed his hand before the pair moved to the dance floor. Emily and Mick only managed to get two dance songs in before Mick felt a tug on his pants. He looked down and saw a smiling Kehlani. Emily smirked and playfully rolled her eyes, "Looks like daddy's little girl wants a father-daughter dance." Emily gently placed her hand on Mick warm cheek. "You are her father. She's made that pretty clear just as you've made it clear that you're here to stay. You know she has you wrapped around her finger so just go." Mick smiled and picked his little girl up. Emily watched from afar as Mick and Kehlani danced. She watched how both of their faces shined with joy and happiness. Emily blinked back the tears and reached for her phone as she heard it ring from her purse. She smiled at the picture flashing on the screen before moving off to the side to answer it.

"I'm so sorry that I'm just now calling you back Em, but it has been nuts around here." "It's okay JJ. I've been a little busy myself." "I got your pictures. Kehlani is getting so big and cute. She looks just like you, which is something I'm grateful for by the way. You do know that you only sent me and Garcia pictures, right?" "Yeah I know." "And you only sent me the picture of Kehlani at some sort of cabin. Why just send that one to me?" "Because out of everybody, you're the easiest person to have this conversation with." "What conversation? Are the two of you okay?" "We're fine JJ. Actually we're better than fine." "Okay now you lost me." "I'm seeing someone" Emily blurted out. "Oh. Is he treating you right? Is he treating Kehlani right? Em I swear if this guy has laid a finger on either one of you-" "Whoa whoa whoa JJ. It's not like that. He's pretty damn perfect. He practically worships the ground I walk on. He'll move mountains for Lani in a heartbeat. He's everything that I could hope to ever have in a father figure for Lani and a partner for me." "So, what's the problem?" "I have no idea if you guys will like him or not. That's really important to me but at the same time, the amount of love I feel for him outweighs the opinion of others." Emily heard JJ take a deep breath on the other end of the phone. "Emily, after everything you've been through, you deserve to be happy. If you found someone who cherishes you and your daughter, then trust me, no one will stand in your way. Rossi is like a dad to you and Hotch is too in a weird way so they'll have to warm up to the guy. Reid is like your little brother. He won't like it at first but will get used to it. Penelope is Penelope. She loves everyone and she will give your boyfriend the benefit of the doubt after running a full background check on him. Morgan is like your big brother. Of course he'll be protective and suspicious, probably for a while, but once he realizes that you are happy, then he'll back off slightly. And for me, I won't threaten the guy or anything but I can't speak for Will" JJ finished with a laugh. "So, who is he?" JJ asked curiously. Emily glanced over at Mick, who now had Kehlani on his knee, as he tried and failed to successfully feed himself and Kehlani.

"Mick Rawson" Emily said in a dreamy daze without even realizing it. She didn't even register JJ's gasp until she heard the phone drop. "JJ? Are you there?" Emily heard JJ scramble for the phone. "Mick Rawson? Sam Cooper's Mick Rawson? British Mick Rawson? Oversexed, egotistical, arrogant, hot British dude with a sexy accent, badge, and gun Mick Rawson?" Emily laughed and looked in his direction again smiling, "Yes that Mick Rawson." "Oh my God! I can't believe it. Tell me everything! Size, stamina, quirks, does he cook, body, how he is with Kehlani, have you met the parents, has he met your parents, car and-" "Wait a second. I can only answer one question at a time. Size is big, stamina is never-ending, his only quirk is that he sprawls out like a dead body when he's sleeping but so does my baby. He cooks but so do I. His body is amazing. He's her whole world and she has him wrapped around her finger. I'm kind of in the middle of meeting the parents. He hasn't met my parents yet. He has a motorcycle but he's looking into buying an SUV because of Lani." "I'm so happy for you Emily. Wait, is he going to move to London or are you coming back to the States?" JJ asked with her fingers crossed, silently hoping that her friend would come back. "We haven't talked about that yet." "That's an important conversation to have. How long have you been seeing each other?" JJ asked curiously. "About three months." "Three months? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" "Because we were trying to figure out what we were. I was trying to figure out what I wanted. We've been mostly long distance and he's here now because his parents renewed their vows today. He's been great since the beginning. He hasn't pressured me into anything. It's actually been the other way around" Emily said with a half-laugh.

Emily and JJ talked for a while more before Emily saw Mick walking towards her with a plate of food. She ended the call with JJ and grabbed the food from Mick. "Hey there beautiful." "Hey there handsome." "So, was that your mother or JJ?" "How did-" Emily started to asked with a confused look on her face. Mick leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'm a profiler too darling and a damn good one if I do say so myself." "So modest." "I have you for that." Emily playfully shoved Mick as he pulled her in for a kiss. Mick and Emily stood completely content and silent in one another embrace for a while before Emily broke the silence. "Were you ever the type growing up that wanted kids?" Mick figured this question would come at some point because he had made it this far in his life without having any children of his own. "Actually yes, I've always wanted children." "So why don't you have any or do you?" "I do have a child." Mick could barely suppress the snicker that threatened to slip out as Emily's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. He grabbed her chin with his thumb and index finger and kissed her quickly on the lips. "I have a daughter Emily. Her name is Kehlani." Emily physically relaxed and jabbed Mick in the ribs. "That wasn't funny." "It was a little." Emily saw someone walking in their direction out the corner of her eye. Her and Mick turned to see Nina with a nodding Kehlani in her arms. "I think that this one is all partied out" she said with a smile. Emily grabbed Kehlani out of Nina's arms and she immediately laid her head in the crook of her mother's neck and draped her left arm over Emily's right shoulder. Nina ran a gentle hand over Kehlani's curls once more, "She so precious. Emily, I gather that the two of you will be around more often?" Nina asked hopeful. Emily reached and grabbed Mick's hand before kissing it. We're not going anywhere." Nina smiled brightly at her son and his new-found love. "Mick your father and I are about to head out." "Yeah, we are too so that the ladybug can get some rest."

Emily and Mick started to go in the general direction of the car before Emily pulled away. "I'm going to the restroom before we leave." "Okay. I'll wait here with Lani." Emily went to the restroom and did her business. As she was washing her hands she felt eyes on her and looked up to see Jeanine glaring at her. "Why are you still around Emily?" "Why do you hate me so much Jeanine?" "What makes you think that I hate you?" "It's obvious. You smiled at my daughter for a split second before you whole demeanor changed and you started looking at her with hatred. That lets me know that you either truly want a daughter or you had one once before and now you don't. You look at me with disgust and when I'm near your brother that look turns into bitterness and jealousy. The fact that Mick fought for me eats you up. Those things tell me that you wish you still had the confidence that you used to have. You hate that Mick and I are so happy because you're so unhappy. You hate that he fought for me because you know that your husband would only fight to keep controlling you." Jeanine's face softened for a split second and Emily saw her armor start to crumble.

 _Guess I finally hit the nail on the head._

Emily took a step closer to Jeanine. "What did Simon do to you Jeanine? It must have been something really awful. It hasn't stopped, has it? How long do you think that it'll take before he forces your boys to be just like him? This is unhealthy Jeanine. I know it's not my business, but if you want to talk about it then I'm here." Emily watched as Jeanine's body language did a complete 180. _Just great. Jeanine the super bitch has come back out to play._ "You're right Emily. My life is none of your business. Get a husband first before you start attacking mine. I'll be happy when my brother comes to his senses and gets rid of you. I don't need or want your help." Jeanine brushed past Emily pretty forcefully and stormed out the bathroom. Emily took a few deep breaths and left the restroom and found Mick. "Hey I was starting to think that you fell in." Mick said with a laugh. "I was freshening up for you" Emily said with a wink. "You don't have to try and look good for me. You're perfect the way you are." "Aren't you a charmer?"

Mick took Emily's hand and they once again started walking towards the car. Mick buckled Kehlani into the car seat. She started to stir and panicked when she didn't feel her bear. "Micky Bear! I want Micky Bear!" She said between sobs as tears made their way down her face. Emily and Mick looked around for the bear but couldn't find it in the car. "She must've left it near your parents' table." Emily said. "I'll get it." "No, it's okay Mick. I can go. I'll be back." Emily said as she gave Mick a quick kiss and headed back into the reception area. Emily was kneeling with her back turned to the open space. She found the bear under the table and scooped it up. She turned as she stood and was face to face with Simon. "Nice to see you again Emily." Emily was uncomfortable under his gaze and with being in this close of proximity with him. "I thought you and Mick were gone." "We're leaving now." "Your little girl didn't have her bear." Simon's voice and tone made Emily's blood run cold. He sounded like a predator hunting his prey. "You stay away from me and my daughter" Emily hissed through her teeth. Simon took a step closer and Emily took one back. "You stay away from my wife. I don't know what you said to her but it stops now. It'd be a real shame if something were to happen to you or your precious little girl." "Is that a threat?" "It's a mindful suggestion. Enjoy your night Emily." And with that he stepped away from Emily but made no move to walk away. Emily all but charged past him and never looked back as she made her way back to Mick and Lani. "You find it?" Mick asked as her looked up from crouched down at Kehlani's level. "Yeah she must've dropped it under the table when she was with them." "Ready to go?" Emily blinked a few times before answering, "Can we go back to the lodge?" "You don't want to go back to my parents' cabin?" Emily shook her head furiously and gave a nervous smile. "I want the two of you all to myself just a little while longer." Mick shook his head and opened Emily's door for her. He went around and climbed into the driver's seat. At the last second, Emily looked out the window and saw Simon staring at them before Mick pulled off.


	14. Chapter 14

Mick could pinch himself right now. He looked down at Emily sleeping on his chest in only a silk, mid-thigh length nightgown. He looked to his immediate right and stared at the iPad on the nightstand. Mick watched the peaceful look on her face as she held her bear tight. He and Emily got a bigger room at the lodge so that they got some privacy. Mick couldn't believe was privileged enough to be a part of both their lives. His family adored the both of them, everybody except his sister and her husband, and that mattered the most to him. At his parents' vow renewal, Mick's entire extended family came and fawned over Emily and Kehlani. His aunts and uncles wouldn't stop asking him questions about them and they were already planning their wedding. Mick chuckled to himself at the thought. He was thrilled that Emily was actually okay with marrying him one day. He ran a hand through her hair and smiled as she nuzzled closer to him. Mick's brow rose as Emily suddenly jolted in her sleep. Her eyes flew open and she twisted her hand in Mick's shirt. "Hey you okay?" Mick asked with a worried look. _Not even close. Nightmares have changed from Ian to Simon._ "Yes, I'm sorry. I think I scared myself. I thought you were gone." Mick glided his fingertips across the apples of her cheeks. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here sweetie. I'm right here."

Emily lifted her body up slightly and looked at the iPad. "She's so beautiful." "Just like her mother" Mick said with a peck to her lips. Emily kissed his back and brushed her fingers through his thick mane. She slowly climbed Mick's body. She straddled his hips and slowly dragged the shirt up his body. She pulled it off his body and leaned down to pepper kisses along his neck and shoulders. She leisurely moved her kisses down his torso as she scraped her nails down his sides. Emily smirked as she suckled at Mick's abs while his body shivered. Emily wrapped her hands around the waistband of Mick's boxers and pulled them down and off his body. She fondled Mick's cock and hummed softly as her eyes took in Mick's growing manhood. She kissed the tip and then teasingly ran her tongue across the underside of his cock with her teeth and tongue. She swirled her tongue around the tip before taking half of his length into her mouth. The groans from Mick as he fisted the sheets only fueled Emily on more. Emily giggled around his dick, sending vibrations through both of their bodies. Emily raised up on her knees and relaxed her throat until she could feel the tip slide down her throat slightly. Emily worked Mick over as she alternated taking him deep in her throat and pumping his shaft from base to tip with her hand. She took Mick back in her mouth one more time and felt every vain in his cock pulse as he grew larger in her mouth. He tried to pull Emily off but she dug her nails into his thighs and continued to suck his dick until he exploded in her mouth. Emily didn't quite prepare herself for his long and flowing release, so some dribbled out the corner of her mouth and down to her chin. Emily sensually lifted her eyes to look at a panting and sweating Mick as she used the pad of her thumb to wipe the corner of her mouth and chin. Mick watched with a slightly open mouth and glossy eyes as Emily licked the last of his release from her thumb before she smiled at him. "That was the last thing that I expected, beautiful." "What can I say? I'm just full of surprises." Mick pulled her to him as she giggled lightly. "Yes you are" Mick kissed her and pulled her body close until they were chest to chest with Emily perched in his lap.

Mick twisted his hand into her hair and tugged slightly while biting her bottom lip. Emily smiled against Mick's mouth and pushed her body further into his until he leaned back. Mick tried to pull her with him but Emily just pushed him back onto the pillows and readjusted her position on his lap. Emily grinded her hips against Mick's, eliciting a low groan from him. She lightly scraped her nails down his chest and smiled at the involuntary shiver his body gave. Emily sat back on her knees and peeled the nightgown off her body. She sat naked before Mick with a devilish glint in her eye and a wild ride planned out in her mind. "No panties?" Mick asked as her skimmed a finger over Emily's engorged clit. "Wh-uhh-what can I say, easy access" Emily moaned out at the surge of arousal that coursed through her with just the slightest graze of Mick's finger. Emily teasingly ran a hand up and down Mick's cock, which had sprung back to life. She lifted her body and lowered herself part way down to where Mick's tip just barely made contact with her lower lips. She did this motion over and over until she drove both her and Mick insane. "Baby please stop teasing. You're killing me and I can tell that you want this just as much as I do" Mick said gesturing towards the gleam of slick arousal that coated Emily's clean triangle. Emily lowered herself gradually down onto Mick's cock and threw her head back as she tried not to cry out at the feeling. Emily felt like every pore on her body was on fire as Mick stretched her nearly to the point of pain.

Once Mick was fully seated within Emily, he grabbed at her hips but she grabbed his hands and intertwined their fingers. Emily rotated her hips, not letting Mick's cock move at all, and placed Mick's hands on her breasts. Emily started to bounce on Mick's cock and tugged her lip tightly between her teeth as he twisted and pinched her rock-hard nipples. Emily felt her eyes roll in the back of her head as Mick started to rotate his own hips under her. Emily started moving faster and Mick put one hand on her hip and the other over her mouth just as she started to cry out. Emily's muffled whimpers got louder as she bounced wildly up and down on Mick's dripping dick. Mick couldn't help but stare at how wet Emily was. She was so aroused…just for him. Mick stared at where they were joined as Emily rode him hard and fast. He stared at the wetness that continued to run out of Emily and onto him. Emily grabbed Mick's hand that was over her mouth and placed it on her other hip. She placed both of her hands on his chest and sharply plunged his dick in and out of her. She felt her release coming and rose back up until she was sitting upright. Emily could tell Mick was close because he was thrusting up at the same time that she was impaling herself on him. Mick sat up and Emily crossed her legs around his back as they rested their foreheads together panting harshly. Emily bit down on Mick's shoulder and he dug his fingers into her hips as they came together.

Emily pulled away as she tried to catch her breath and winced at the blood that appeared around the bite she gave Mick. "Babe you're bleeding. I'm sorry." Mick, still panting, rested his forehead against Emily shoulder. "It was worth it." Emily lifted Mick's head and kissed him as she still sat in his lap with him buried inside of her. Emily phone started to vibrate and she groaned, not wanting to move. Mick grabbed it from the nightstand, as he took a peek at a still sleeping Kehlani, and handed it to her. About 5 minutes into Emily's call, she looked over at the iPad and noticed Kehlani squirming. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she woke up, so Emily climbed out of Mick's lap and groaned internally at the slight pain she'd already started to feel. She pulled on Mick's shirt as she balanced her phone between her ear and shoulder. She walked into the other room and got Kehlani just as she woke up. "Mama" "Hi sweet girl", Emily cooed softly as she tried to pay attention to the other end of her phone call. She changed Kehlani's pull-up and brought her into Mick and Emily's room. She noticed that Mick was in the bathroom and placed Kehlani down on the nearby couch as she cleaned up the bed. "I'll just go and deal with it myself" Emily said as she ended the call and placed her phone down on the nightstand. She gasped as Mick wrapped his arms around her and nibbled on her ear. "I thought you were supposed to be handling me?" Mick said teasingly. Emily smiled and leaned back into him. "Didn't know you were so easy to handle. That was work actually." Mick couldn't hide the disappointment. "You have to go back to work so soon?" "Yes I do. Hey, you know how it is." "Yeah I do. I just thought that we'd have more time to spend together. You know, all three of us." Emily and Mick looked over to Kehlani, who had found both their badges and was playing with them, and smiled. "Mick this is the life that we chose." Mick let out a breath, "I know it's just that it wasn't supposed to be so hard."

Emily stiffened, "You mean I wasn't supposed to be so hard to be with, right?" "What? No. You're twisting my words. Our jobs weren't supposed to be so hard." "So, what is it? You just want me to quit my job and be some housewife? That's what the women in your family do, isn't it? I talked to your aunts at the ceremony and they all said that they used to work before they got married. Is that what you thought Mick? That we'd get together and I'd just submit to you and give up everything I've worked for?" Mick looked over Emily's shoulder and saw that Kehlani was preoccupied and not paying attention to them. He pulled Emily by her arm towards the bathroom. "Emily what is going on with you? I wouldn't ask or expect you to give up your job to sit at home all day. Emily, I'm not stupid; I know how hard you've worked to get where you are. My aunts chose to do what they did and that's got nothing to do with us. We haven't had a conversation that we truly need to. Where are we supposed to live if we're going to be a 'family'? Are we supposed to bounce Kehlani from continent to continent until she's 18? We're supposed to have sex via Western Union? How are we supposed to grow and get closer as a couple? You are avoiding these questions and throwing all the guilt on me. How exactly is this supposed to work between us Em?" Emily looked at Mick with fire in her eyes and brushed past him. "I don't know but I am not putting the blame on you. Are you even sure that this was a good idea to begin with? The same questions that you asked me are directed right back at you too. While you think on it, I'll sleep with Lani." She didn't give him a chance to say anything and picked up the toddler who was already nodding and went into the other room, closing the door behind her.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily gently ran a comb through Kehlani's hair as the little girl munched on apples. It had been three days since Emily and Mick had left the cabin and returned to London. Mick spent one more night with Kehlani and flew back to the States that following morning. Emily consistently ignored Mick's calls and texts once she returned home. She tried to stay posted in London but the bureaucratic part of her job had her gnawing at her already tender nailbed as she mulled over a decision. Emily was needed in D.C.; she figured as much once the FBI, DEA, ATF, DOJ, and Interpol locked horns with one another on a case involving a Europe national, more specifically a London national. She'd called her mother after that and asked her to fly into D.C. with her and Kehlani to watch after her while Emily was working. Ambassador Prentiss complied almost immediately and sounded excited to stay in her Alexandria home for a short while.

Emily finished combing her little girl's hair and stood up to go gather their bags for the trip. Her doorbell rang and Kehlani ran over to it, although she couldn't reach the handle, and knocked on it. Emily smiled when she came back into the room, "Mama door. Daddy?" Emily's heart broke and blinked back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. "No sweetie it's not daddy. It's grandma." Emily opened the door and gave her mother a tired but wide grin. "Nana Lizbeth!" Kehlani yelled before wrapping her arms around her grandmother. Emily laughed to herself before shaking her head at her mother. Elizabeth feigned innocence, "What? Not my fault that she prefers to call me Nana Lizbeth over grandma." "Oh yeah? I wonder who put that in her head to begin with?" Both women laughed and Emily stepped aside to let her mother in. Elizbeth saw the circles under Emily's eyes and the sadness that she was trying to push back. It was the same sadness when Mick first had to go back to the States. She wanted to talk to Emily about it but decided to wait until her granddaughter was asleep. "How long will you have to be in DC?" Elizabeth asked as she packed up some crayons and a coloring book into Kehlani's small backpack for the plane ride. Emily walked into another room but yelled back, "Until this fiasco gets cleared up." "What happened exactly? Maybe I can help." Elizabeth said as she thought about her connections. "Just multiple international crimes committed by the same person and now everyone is fighting for jurisdiction. At first, Interpol was out of it but then it was found out that more crimes may have been committed and that the accused just might have diplomatic immunity. All in all, it's like the first place trophy that every kid wants to fight over."

Emily walked back into the room with their luggage and Elizabeth grabbed Kehlani's backpack with one hand while grabbing her hand with the other. Kehlani grabbed her bear tightly and walked out the front door with her grandmother. Emily stopped in her tracks, "I'll meet you guys at the car." She put the bags on a nearby table and toyed with the necklace she was wearing, the necklace that Mick gave her. She took it off and placed it on the counter. Her eyes flicked to a picture on the refrigerator that Kehlani made. Her and Mick created a mini masterpiece with finger paint and glitter. She bit her lips as she once again blinked back the tears. She looked at the picture one more time before picking the necklace up. She didn't put it on but instead put it in her pocket. She grabbed the bags and exited her home before locking up and going downstairs to the waiting car. The Prentiss girls settled into comfortable silence as the flight took off. After a couple of hours, Kehlani fell asleep and Elizabeth glanced at Emily, only to see that she was staring off into space. Elizabeth raked her eyes over her daughter's form. Although Emily was clearly a pro at covering up whatever mood she was in with makeup, Elizabeth also knew that something was wrong with her daughter. She noticed Emily had removed the necklace that Mick gave her and even though she didn't say anything, she heard Kehlani call out for her father when she rang the doorbell. Elizbeth waged a battle within herself before her curiosity took centerstage.

"So, did you ask me to come along because you really want me there or because you don't want to tell Mick that you're coming to DC?" Emily felt time froze when she heard the question her mother asked. Emily let out a shaky breath, "Do you think I made a huge mistake by bringing Mick into our lives?" Emily didn't mean to ask the question that way but she couldn't stop herself before it came tumbling out. Emily sat in uncomfortable silence until she heard her mother speak again. "I think that for once, you followed your heart. I don't think that there's anything wrong with that. Emily, you're scared. It's okay to be scared. I think that you made a decision that you thought made sense until you really had to stop and let reality sink in." "We had a fight. Every topic that I'd been avoiding all came out. We never talked about where we'd live as a 'family' because that would involve once of us giving up more than the other. In hindsight, it all makes sense. Mick and I probably wouldn't work out long-term because I'm not willing to give up everything that I've worked for. Daddy was right; if you're not willing to compromise, then it's not worth as much to you as you think."

Elizabeth pursed her lips for a second before looking at Emily. "While I do love your father, what he told you wasn't entirely true. I know my daughter and I know that you'd compromise in a heartbeat…you're just afraid to. You love Mick so much that it terrifies you of the future that you two could have. You're waiting for the other shoe to drop. You're waiting for everything to go wrong. You are so worried about the bad that you're blind to the good. Mick is the first man who has ever treated you right. Emily, I want to see you happy. I don't want to die knowing that my only child is unhappy and miserable. Don't compare Mick to other men that you've dated. Don't have him fighting to get out of their shadows. Don't take away Kehlani's father. He is her father because he loves her and you unconditionally. Ian Doyle is nothing. He never was. Mick is your everything. You and I both know that." Emily let the silent tears fall and rested her head on her mother's shoulders. Elizabeth ran a hand through Emily's hair. "It will be okay sweetheart. Everything will work itself out."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMM

Emily had just spent four hours, right after she landed, sitting in a meeting that went nowhere. Everyone technically had a reason to be there but no one was willing to give up and let another agency take over. "It's like being in a room full of five-year-olds with only one juice box left" Emily muttered as she strolled to the SUV waiting for her outside. Her phone started to ring and she looked down to see Mick's face across the screen. She sighed and silenced her phone before dropping it in her purse and climbing in the backseat of the SUV.

Mick sat at his desk zoned out as he heard the voicemail pick up once again. Mick had called Emily over 2 dozen times in the past week; he'd texted her even more. Mick let out a sigh as he hung the phone up and leaned back in his chair. Mick ran a hand through his hair and picked the phone up again. He drummed his fingers on the desk as the voicemail clicked on once again. "Hey Em, it's me…again. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and I love you, the both of you. I know that this might be difficult but we'll make it work. Em…I'll leave the BAU if it means that I get to be with you. I can't lose you or my ladybug because of my ego. Emily I—" Mick sighed as the voicemail cut him off and he hung the phone up. Prophet looked over at Mick and sighed. "It'll be okay mate." Mick didn't even bother looking at his friend, "How can you be so sure about that?" "Because you and Emily are my personal standard for relationships, so if you don't work I'll be spending my last years with some woman that my mom chooses that probably has more facial hair than I do." In spite of the anguish that he was feeling, Mick gave Prophet a hearty laugh. Prophet stopped smiling and turned more serious, "I'm serious man. You two will be fine. She just needs some time to think." "What about my little girl?" "From what you've told me, I doubt that she'd purposely keep you away from her. After your fight, she still let you stay with her before you came back, so that's a good sign. Reach out to her friends and family. I'm sure they'll get a message to her that you want to see Kehlani." "I wouldn't know where to start. The only person from her old team that she told about us was JJ." "So call her mom." "Yeah maybe later" Mick said dismissively as he saw Cooper motioning for them to come into the roundtable room.

"Hello?" a dreary voice answered. "Hey JJ, it's Em. Did I wake you?" "Not really. We're on a case in Eagle, Wisconsin. We're just at a standstill with victimology." "Oh. You want to run it by me? Maybe I can help." "The three victims that we found were on their way to a football game. It looks like they may have tried a shortcut, but I didn't work out. We haven't found the vehicles or the primary crime scene. They have these puncture wounds as if they were about to be turned into a human puppet. They also have this waxy gloss on their bodies and have the faint smell of roadkill on them, which makes no sense." Emily sat back on the couch and tucked her legs under her as she listened to JJ. She glanced at some of the DVDs that her mother had sitting out for them to watch together. Even though her previous job gave her a lot of gore, Emily still loved to indulge in a horror flick or two, just to unwind. A light bulb went off in her head and she chuckled. "What's so funny Em?" "Nothing JJ. Your case just sounds like the plot of House of Wax." "What are you talking about?" Emily rolled her eyes, forgetting that the blonde was a sucker for romance movies. "This is how it goes. This group of college students, or something, that are on their way to a playoff game. They camp out for the night in a closed off campsite. Some guy gives them a scare that night. The next morning, the girls go clean themselves up and one of them slips down the hill and falls into a pit of roadkill. Two of them branch off and let a local take them to this town to find a phone. The entire town is made of wax and there are only three actual living people. It turns out two of them are twins and one of them is basically deformed. They were conjoined and separated surgically. The brother that's deformed sprays hot wax on people while their still alive and poses them as residents of this town. The college students try to fight back but only two of them survive. That's basically the gist of it." Emily held the phone to her ear and waited for JJ to respond.

"Um….JJ" "Emily what the hell do you watch in your spare time?" JJ asked with a laugh. "You think that my case is based off a movie about a deformed maniac who covers people in wax?" "No, but someone could be obsessed with movies enough that they could try and make one come true. We've seen far crazier things in the field, haven't we?" "Yes, we have. What's up Em. Isn't it like the wee hours of the morning in London?" "I'm not in London. I'm actually in D.C., well Alexandria to be exact." "Are you-" "JJ please lower your voice. Don't tell the team please. I'll tell them myself." "I promise I won't. Why did you call me?" "Because I think Mick and I are at the end of the road." Emily heard JJ shift as she moved, presumably somewhere quiet, before responding. "Emily I'm sorry if I brought these things up. I want you to be happy. I love you like a sister and I only want the best for you. Mick is what's best for you. he loves the both of you. Things will be hard. Long distance was hard for Will and I but we made it work. You and Mick just have to find the groove that works best for the two of you." JJ heard Emily sniffle and felt her heart broke. "Am I going to see my little angel baby before you guys go back?" "Yes. You'll get to see her. I'll make sure of it. I have to go. Talk to you soon."

Emily hung the phone up and settled back on the couch just as her mother walked into the room with food. "Pizza? Who would've thought the prim and proper Ambassador Prentiss would indulge in the greasy, fatty, gooey deliciousness of pizza?" "Ha ha very funny. Right now, we are having bonding time with movies and pizza. Now scoot over." Emily and her mother spent the rest of the night watching movies. Emily had a repeat of the same problem the next day. She'd spent the same amount of time arguing over jurisdiction. At around lunchtime, Emily decided that she'd eat far away from all these overgrown children. Her mother had called her and asked if it was okay to drop off Kehlani. Elizabeth neglected to mention that Mick had called her and that she told him that she would make sure he got a chance to see Kehlani. "Mom I'm going to run by the BAU. I promised JJ that she'd see Lani." Emily was fairly certain that Mick was on a case; even if he wasn't, they worked on two different floors so she doubted that she'd bump into him.

Emily straightened out Kehlani's denim shirt and the little girl shifted on her mother's hip. The elevator dinged and Emily stepped off and went towards the bullpen. JJ told her that her hunch had been right and that they solved the case and were back. Morgan looked up and gave that classic Derek Morgan smile. "Hey baby bear and Mama bear." Emily gave Morgan that Prentiss glare and then morphed it into a breathtaking smile. "Don't use that Derek Morgan charm on my baby." "Hey hey now. I'm the only one allowed to use charm on her. She's not dating until she's 30. Isn't that right baby bear?" "No way Jose" Kehlani said as she giggled and laid her head on her mother's shoulder. Emily laughed. "I guess she told you", Rossi said with a smirk as he walked over and pinched Kehlani's cheek. She giggled and squirmed in her mother's hold. Penelope squealed when she saw Kehlani. "Oh my gosh! She's gotten so big. And she looks more and more like her mother every day! How long are you here for? Where are you staying? We need to go shopping!"

"Penelope! Breathe. I don't know how long we're here. I'm in the middle of a case that I wish was over. We're staying with my mother at her house here. You are not going crazy in a store shopping for her. We still have to go back to London and I'd rather not have triple the luggage we came with." Garcia poked out her lip and far as it could go and grinned triumphantly when Kehlani mimicked her. Emily shifted her once more before she felt Kehlani turn her head and rested her chin on the part of Emily's shoulder closest to her neck. Emily made small talk with her old team for a few moments before Kehlani's deafening scream pierced her ears. Emily winced and shifted her daughter away from her left ear. "Lani-" "DADDY DADDY DADDY DADDY!"

Emily froze in place and felt the breath leave her body. She didn't turn around but let Kehlani down after all the squirming she was doing. She ran right to Mick, who was awkwardly standing in the entrance of the bullpen, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck when he picked her up. She refused to loosen her grip around Mick's neck and tried to bury her face further into his neck. "Hey there ladybug. How's daddy's little girl? Huh? You missed me? I missed you. I missed you so much ladybug." Kehlani pulled away a little a rested her head on her father's cheek. "Missed you daddy. Micky bear missed daddy too. Daddy go home wif me?" Mick kissed Kehlani's forehead and then her temple. "I missed Micky bear too. I missed reading you bedtime stories and making pictures for mommy. We have to ask mommy if I can come home with you" Mick whispered against the crown of Kehlani's head as she started playing with the collar of his shirt.

Emily was still motionless and only made eye contact with JJ. JJ saw the pleading look on her face and prepared herself to intervene. "Did she say daddy?" Reid asked as he finished solving a puzzle he'd started on when Emily first walked in. Emily tore her eyes away from JJ and briefly glanced at every member of her old team. They all had expressions that conveyed confusion and hurt. "I was going to tell you guys but-" "But what?" Morgan asked with annoyance dripping in his tone. "Morgan-" JJ started but Emily cut her off with a raised hand. "Let's table this. I have something to do right now." Emily turned around and faced Mick. He looked up from Kehlani and immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing her necklace. Emily saw the hurt in Mick's eyes and unconsciously grabbed at where the necklace was supposed to be. She walked over on shaky legs to him. "Hi mommy" Kehlani said with a big grin. Emily matched her smile. "Hey my sweet baby. Can mommy talk to daddy for a second?" Emily asked in a low voice. JJ had walked closer to them and Emily motioned for her to take Kehlani. "Hi sweetie. You want to see the rest of the office?" JJ asked in a soothing voice. Kehlani looked back at her parents and went with JJ after they gave her reassuring nods. "Hey, you mind taking her to see my team? Prophet and Cooper have been asking about her." Mick asked sheepishly as he looked at Emily. She looked uncomfortable with the whole situation, "Uh yeah. Sure, that's fine." Emily turned her attention back to Mick. "We need to talk." JJ looked a Garcia and pointed towards her office. The peppy blonde understood and zoomed past the guys to be near Emily. "You guys can use my office and I'll help JJ out on that tour." "Thanks Garcia." Hotch gripped Morgan's shoulder when he tried to walk closer to Emily. "She'll talk to us when she's ready. Let's just finish our paperwork and wait."

Mick followed Emily into Garcia's office and shut the door behind them. He waited for Emily to say something but when she didn't, he spoke up. "So, I noticed that you don't have the necklace on." Emily bit her lip. "Guess not." Mick let out a frustrated huff. "Are we really going to stand here and barely talk to each other?" Emily paced back and forth and turned her back to Mick once again. "This was a bad idea. We shouldn't have gone down this road. I don't know how but we'll figure out a way to keep this civilized for Kehlani. We'll have to find a way to work out visitation because I'm not taking her from your life….just me." Emily stared at Garcia's dark screens and various knick-knacks as she waited for Mick to say something. The sharp "No" that she heard made her jump in surprise and tremble slightly in fear. Mick had never raised his voice to her. "You think I'm just going to let you run out on this relationship? Emily, are you out of your mind? I AM NOT IAN DOYLE! What are you waiting for? For me to cheat on you? For me to give you an ultimatum of giving up your job and moving back here? For me to marry you only to divorce you later on? For me to have more children with you and decide to leave all of you? Or are you waiting for me to physically hurt you? You waiting for me to hit you or God forbid rape you? Emily, when are you going to get it through your head that I just want to love you? When are you going to understand that I love you unconditionally and I would give you the world? When are you going to understand that I'd leave this job in a heartbeat and go back to London? When are you going to get that I don't want anybody else but you? Dammit Emily answer me!"

Mick could see Emily's slender frame shake a little before she turned around with tears streaming down her face. "Mick, I..i can't be you're everything. I will always be damaged. Ian Doyle will always hunt my psyche. I can't be the woman that gives you a white picket fence because I'm all screwed up inside. Mick I love you enough to walk away from you so that you can find that woman." Mick stepped closer to her, oblivious to his own tears, and placed his hands in her hair and brought their faces closer together. "Emily please stop pushing me away. I don't think that I can live without you. Please stop pulling away from me. I'm begging you." Emily tried to clear her vision of salty tears by blinking rapidly. "I'm sorry for all the craziness." "I wouldn't have it any other way baby." Mick lowered his mouth until he placed a feather light kiss to Emily's supple lips. She rested the palm of her right hand on Mick's cheek as she kissed him back hungrily. He parted his lips and let Emily's tongue start a slow and sensual dance with his own. Emily stole every breath, regardless of how small, that his body produced until he had to pull away just to take a deep breath.

She pulled him back to her and started to pepper kisses on his neck while he slowly trailed his hands down her slender form. He rested them on her ass and squeezed gently, which resulted in her grinning against his neck. "You in DC because of that international case, right?" Emily never moved her face from his neck but nodded yes as she started to nibble on the underside of his jaw. "You coming home with me or back with your mom?" Emily pulled back and smiled, "I figured she'd call you. If you want me to come then I will." "I want you to come in more ways than one" Mick said with a grin as Emily slapped him on the chest and laughed. He grabbed her hands and kissed both of them one by one. "I would love for you and ladybug to come home with me." Emily's growling stomach made her blush a deep pink color and Mick laugh. "Let's get some food in you."

Emily opened the door only to find Garcia, Reid, and Morgan crumpled into a dogpile in front of the door. Emily looked up and saw Rossi leaned against the wall with a cup of coffee. "I was smart. Them..not so much." "Where you guys eavesdropping?" Emily asked with a raised brow. She was greeted with blubbering excuses and stuttering from the trio. "It's been a paperwork day for all of us, everybody can go home early today." Hotch said as he came out the bullpen with Cooper and the rest of Mick's team. Emily immediately noticed how Kehlani had Prophet wrapped around her finger. "Get your guns ready daddy" Emily whispered as she kissed Mick's cheek. "Early dinner at my place?" Mick asked, surprising himself. Emily gave him a wide-eyed look, as did everyone else. They all agreed and went to gather their things as Mick and Emily stood near the elevators. "What did I just do?" "Opened yourself up for the interrogation from hell."


	16. Chapter 16

"What's her favorite color?" "Purple but to be more specific it depends on the season. In the winter, she loves plum, in the spring she loves lavender, in the summer she prefers electric purple, and in the fall she only likes tyrian purple." "Favorite food?" "It changes with her moods. If she's sad, she likes sushi, but only California and Spicy Crab Rolls. If she's happy, then she loves Caribbean food but she'll settle for Indian. If she's tired, she prefers Mexican. And if she's overthinking something, as usual, she prefers Italian." "Favorite sport?" "She'll watch any sport but she absolutely adores hockey and baseball. She's a Yankee baseball fan and a Chicago Blackhawks fan. She doesn't understand football at all but she'll watch it. She has a weakness for watching both the Summer and Winter Olympics." "Favorite book?" "That's a trick question. She doesn't just have one but she has quite a few. Anything Kurt Vonnegut, To Kill a Mockingbird, War and Peace, The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick, 1984, Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, Catch 22, Dracula, Crime and Punishment, A Tale of Two Cities, The Odyssey, Little Women, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, Flowers for Algernon, The Crucible, Pride and Prejudice, oh and Oliver Twist. Sorry, there are quite a few and even more that I didn't name. What can I say, the woman loves to read?" "Favorite animal?" "To simply view, she enjoys watching giraffes. She loves to watch how simple and graceful they are. She likes how they are able to ignore everything around them. Her favorite animal to have would be a dog. She likes cats just fine but she's always wanted a Dalmatian. As she got older, she was torn between a Dalmatian and a Siberian Husky. A small part of her also wants a rabbit but don't tell her that I told you that." "So far so good. I don't have any more questions for the British man candy", Garcia said as she sat back in her chair and started rummaging through her oversized bag.

JJ watched Mick's body language as he answered every question Garcia threw at him with ease. He didn't have an ounce of intimidation in him. She smirked to herself _Well see if he stays that confident when the guys question him._ She leaned back and folded her arms, "What's Emily's relationship with her parents like?" "Her dad is still pretty busy traveling for different assignments. He's working in Western Europe right now which is a relief to Emily. He doesn't get to see Lani as much as he'd like but he sees her more than he would if he was still in Africa. Her and her mom's relationship is the best it has ever been. They've had their ups and downs but now they seem to be in a good place. She moved to London to be with Emily and Lani." "How is Emily's individual relationship with all of us?" JJ watched Mick take a gulp before her answered. "With you, she is the most open and trusting. There are very few boundaries between the two of you. The two of you fight and makeup like sisters would. With Penelope, she only mentions the good because she doesn't want to bring down her sprits. Reid is the little brother she wished that she had growing up. They have many things in common—she wouldn't betray his trust by telling me—which makes it easier for him to open up to her. He's her go-to guy with anything remotely nerdy. They always talk on the phone during a sci-fi marathon or they try to go see foreign films together. Morgan is the overprotective harmless big brother that she wanted to have around some of the time—her words not mine. Hotch is the older brother/uncle figure that she desperately needed—also her words and not mine. He was the amount of discipline and stability that she was cheated out of growing up. Rossi is the part of her father that she wished was present more. He is her rock and her security blanket on this big bad world." "Last question. How is Emily's relationship with Declan?" Mick let out a breath. "He's doing great in school. He and Emily talk ever so often and he visited her on his last break. They are at a standstill right now because Declan doesn't want her and I together. He would rather her and Tom be together." JJ could see the hurt in his eyes, although he tried to hide it, and she was relieved that he knew about Declan and she was impressed that Emily had opened up to him so much.

Mick knew that it would be mere seconds before he got interrogated by the rest of her old team. Reid was the first one to ask him questions. "What's her favorite holiday?" "Halloween." "Why?" "Her monsters become non-existent for one day. She loves to see people be whatever they want with freedom from judgment. She's also a big-time horror movie addict, so it fits. Lastly, it was her mom's original due date; she was just born early because she was breach." "What was the weirdest name that she came up with for a child?" Mick laughed, "January and Dove for a girl and Dodger for a boy." "Do you really love her or do you think that you do?" "I love Emily with every breath in my body. I wish that I'd seriously pursued her when our teams had that case together. I wished that I hadn't tried to be a player because maybe she would've taken me seriously. I look at her and I wish that I could just make all the pain in her past disappear. I look at Kehlani and I can't imagine my life without either of them. There's a part of me that wants to do this job with everything in me so that I can keep one less monster off the streets and away from them. Then there's another part of me that wants to leave this job, grab them, and run away to the furthest place we can go and just enjoy the rest of our lives."

Mick was unaware that the rest of Emily's old team had heard his admission to Reid and that JJ and Garcia had tears shining in their eyes. Hotch stepped towards Mick and Reid, "How do you and Emily plan on balancing out your living and work situations?" Hotch asked with that classic Hotchner glare. "We haven't had in-depth conversations about that yet but I am willing to either transfer or quit to be with her. I'm not going to ask Emily to give up anything because she's worked too hard to get where she is. She's worked too hard to be at peace." "Do you want more children? I see how you are with Kehlani but that doesn't mean as much as you think. So I'll ask again, do you want more children with Emily?" Rossi asked. "Yes, I do. If she can't have any more naturally, then we'll explore alternatives. I'm okay with a surrogate or even adopting. I'll even take a foster child. As long as I have them with Emily, then it won't really bother me as to how we got them." Morgan cleared his throat and stood up chest-to-chest with Mick. "And if she has nightmares about Doyle? Or if down the road Kehlani asks about him?" Mick straightened his back and sized Morgan up. "She still has nightmares about Doyle. They aren't as frequent but she still has them. Most of the time they're manageable. When they're not, we talk, watch movies, cook, or sit outside and just listen to the wind blow. Look I know that you guys feel like I may be playing her or trying to hurt her, but I truly love Emily and I'd do anything to keep her happy. As far as Kehlani, I doubt that Emily plans on lying to her about her biological father. From my standpoint, I would tell her who her father is but I would also tell her that helping to create a baby doesn't make you a father. I am Kehlani's father because I know that she has to be able to look out her window before she can go to sleep. She has to sleep with the bear that I gave her or she'll be up all night. She always has to have a framed picture of this team in her bed with her. When she's sick, she prefers socks over clothes and always has to watch the Cubs World Series from the 80s that her Uncle Derek recorded for her. She loves when either me or Emily reads The Hobbit—that her Uncle Spencer got her. She loves the puzzles that her cousins Jack and Henry usually help her finish. She loves that Rubiks cube that her Aunt Penny got specifically for her. The only backpack she ever grabs is the one that her Aunt JJ got for her in Pennsylvania. She gives that look—we all know the look—whenever someone is eating Italian and doesn't pronounce it the way her Uncle Davey does. Kehlani is my daughter because I know what every little face she makes mean…the same way that I know each of her mother's looks. Doyle was just a sperm donor. Even if her were here, he wouldn't know the first thing about being a father. He wouldn't know the kind of joy you get watching Lani attempt to eat Cherrios while she's half-asleep. He wouldn't pay attention to the way her head nods while she's trying to put the spoon in her mouth. I notice things like that because I am her father!"

MMMMMMMMMMMMMeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeMMMMMMMMMMM

Emily sat semi-uncomfortably as she watched Kehlani play with all the little knickknacks that Garcia found in her bag. She also felt the eyes boring into her from Mick's team. "Ask whatever it is that you feel you need to ask." Cooper spoke up first, "Where would the three of you live?" "At first I was adamant in staying in London. I have become accustomed to London and made good friends there, but as I look at all the love here, I can't take this away from Lani or Mick. I can't take all her aunts and uncles away from her—even if they spoil her rotten. I can't take Mick's best friends from him nor can I handle being away from mine for much longer. I know that my mother would move with us in a heartbeat so that's not an issue. I am willing to come back to the States." Gina took a sip out of her glass before clearing her throat, "Mick's been screwed over badly once before and he's lost a woman that he loved and his child. How do we know that you won't just walk out of him and leave him heartbroken?" "I've never truly been in love ever in my life. This is not a whimsical relationship; we are both putting everything out on the table and going all in. I can't walk out on Mick because I doubt that I'll ever find another man who could even remotely love me like Mick does. I can't love anyone else the way that I love Mick. I won't take my daughter's father from her. The bond that Mick and Lani have is unbreakable and something to be treasured, so why would I screw that up?" Prophet grinned and sat back further in his position on the couch. "I just have one question." Emily looked over at Prophet expectantly as he rested his hands behind his head, "When's the wedding?" The sheer look of terror in Emily's eyes made Mick's entire team laugh. "I'm sorry but I just had to." The timer in the kitchen let Emily know that some of the food was ready and that the grill was probably ready. She clapped her hands together a couple of times. "Okay men. The grill should be ready by now so you guys can decide and/or battle over who gets to be the grill master." They all hurried in the direction of the grill like a stampede.


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of Mick and Emily's dinner went remarkably well. Both of their respective teams stopped grilling them and all worked in concert to get dinner fixed and ready at a reasonable time. Emily smiled from her place in front of the sink, as she washed dishes, to sneak a peek at what Mick and Kehlani were doing. Mick was attempting to teach Kehlani how to play Jenga. Kehlani seemed more content to just destroy the tower whenever Mick got it set up. Being as stubborn as he was, Mick wouldn't concede defeat and kept rebuilding the tower just to _try_ and teach her how to play the game. Mick originally offered to help clean up but Emily shooed him away. She felt bad enough for the father-daughter duo being separated while she was back in London. Emily pondered on her answers to the probing questions of Mick's team. She knew that she meant what she said about not being able to keep Kehlani away from all her family in D.C.; the hard part was figuring out how to move back without causing an uproar from both of her sets of friends…the BAU and the British version of the BAU. Emily felt so content being in Mick's home…like she belonged there. The trance was broken when her phone started vibrating in her pocket.

She looked at the caller id and saw that it was a call from London but not from a number she recognized. She vaguely heard Mick say that he was going to give Kehlani a bath and get her ready for bed. Her phone kept buzzing and she waited until Mick was out of her sight before answering. "Prentiss." "Emily?" The brunette couldn't stop the shock and discreetly moved to a quieter part of the house. "Jeanine? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Jeanine tried to discreetly cover up her tears but Emily heard them. "You were right about Simon. I was so stupid. He's scaring me Emily." "Tell me what happened. Tell me everything." "Simon has been distant, cold, and controlling since we got married after two years of dating. He's always taken care of me so I didn't really question it. He was adamant that we only have boys so that he can teach them to be like him. Simon never laid a finger on me until…" "Until what Jeanine?" "Until my third pregnancy. We got into an argument because he'd found out that I knew we were having a girl but decided not to tell him. I figured that once he saw her, he'd accept it. He told me that it was unacceptable. He didn't come home for weeks after that. I was leaving our loft one day to run errands and the elevator wasn't working so, I had to take the stairs. I was about halfway down when someone pushed me down the stairs. I never saw who it was but I lost my daughter because of it. I woke up at the hospital and Simon told me that it was all a blessing in disguise. He said that we weren't equipped to raise another child. We were; we have both always been successful so we had more than enough" Jeanine said as she broke down in tears. Emily had to force herself to calm down. She took deep breaths and let some of the anger leave her body. "What has he done to you recently?" "He hasn't done anything to me but I think he's hurting other people." "What are you talking about?" "He's been flying back to the States constantly this past couple of years. It was way more frequent before the ceremony but since then he's still been going. It has nothing to do with business. My work is in the States; his is in Japan and some of South America. He has no valid reason to keep going stateside."

"Does he have any family in the States? Frequent trips don't necessarily mean that something is going on?" "He came home three days ago with a cut under his eyebrow and scratches on his chest. I asked him about it and he said that he was foolishly in the bathroom while his plane was going through turbulence. I asked him about the scratches and he lost it. He pinned me to a wall with his forearm. He was so angry. Emily….Austin and Neil saw the whole thing. I don't know what to do." Emily let out a long breath. "My address is 31 Biddulph Road. Pack some things for you and the boys and go there as soon as possible. Tell NO ONE. I'll make sure my doorman lets you in. Stay there until I get there. Turn your phone off as soon as we end this call, leave it in your house and buy a burner cell. Everything needs to be done in cash. I'll get there as soon as I can." "Thank you Emily. Thank you so much. Please don't tell Mick." "Until I know everything, I never planned on it." Emily hung up the phone and immediately hated herself for what she was about to do next.

Emily heard her name being called and walked through the house to find Mick reading Kehlani a bedtime story. She watched from the doorway how her little girl's eyes lit up when Mick mimicked animal sounds. Those sweet and innocent giggles soothed Emily for a moment until she looked at Mick. His eyes were boring into her—with adoration rather than concern—and the contact made her stomach churn because she knew that she was about to lie to the man that she loved. _It's for a good reason._ Emily walked over to the bed and kissed Kehlani's forehead as her eyes started to droop. Mick ran his palm over the resting girl's belly before lifting his hand to caress Emily's face. "Ready to go to bed?" Mick asked as he looked at her. Emily smirked back at him, "Not quite" she said as she ran her hand slowly over his chest. She could feel his heartbeat pick up. "You coming or not?" Emily asked seductively as she started to walk out of the room. Mick jumped to his feet and followed Emily out the room.

By the time they got to the master bedroom, Emily had already yanked his shirt off and was well on her way to getting his pants off too. "Whoa. Slow down sweetheart. We've got all the time in the world." _No we don't. If you only knew what I was about to do to you._ She silenced him with a rough kiss. "Tonight, I want it hard. Don't hold back." Mick looked at her stunned for a minute before hoisting her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and reached between them, still desperate to get his belt off. "What the lady wants, the lady gets." Mick carried Emily over to the dresser and put her down. She immediately took off in the direction of his massive closet. He smirked and then followed her. He reached the closet door just as she threw her panties off and they hit him in the face. He stares, mouth agape, at her naked body and the raw, carnal desire in her eyes. "Why do you have a chest in your closet Mr. Rawson?" "I don't have the best decorating skills. It's seemed convenient and has been useful so far." "Why don't we make good use of it now?" Mick shut the door and walked over to Emily, who had already perched herself on top of the waist-high chest. Mick stood in-between her legs and ran his fingers over her slick opening.

Emily yanked him closer and removed his belt before unzipping his pants and pushing those and his boxers down to his knees. "Baby we can be gentle later. I need you now" Emily said as she kissed from his neck to his earlobe. Mick was already hard and throbbing and he knew just from touching her that Emily was more than ready for him. He pushed the tip of his cock inside of Emily's quaking body; she spread her legs further apart and he pushed in the rest of the way. Emily cried out but anchored her ankles around his back. Mick knew she didn't want him to stop so, he didn't. He started pounding into her body and felt her get even wetter. Emily lifted her left leg and rested her ankle on Mick's shoulder; she propped her right one up on the chest. The new angle made Mick go in even deeper and she felt tears prick her eyes as her climax approached quicker. She scraped her nails down Mick's back as he went faster and faster. Mick bent his head to suck and bite her nipples. Emily smacked a hand against the wall behind her while the other blindly reached for the rod, which held up a lot of clothes. Emily grabbed one of the shirts and held it against her mouth as her climax hit and she shook violently before resting her entire body weight on Mick. He kept going and after about 8 more thrusts he spilled inside of her buried to the hilt.

Emily caught her breath first and used the same shirt to wipe the sweat that had made an appearance on Mick's face. "That was intense." Mick laughed and shook his head, "Yes it was." Mick helped Emily off the chest but her knees buckled. He laughed and picked her up and carried her, bridal-style, to the bathroom. They showered slowly and Emily kept trying to tell herself that she'd be doing the right thing. They both got out the shower and climbed into bed, still naked. Mick spooned behind Emily, "Mick. You mind watching Lani for a few days?" Mick raised his head and urged Emily to turn and face him. "Of course I will. What's wrong?" "Nothing. I just want to get this stupid case over with and I just feel like the best way to do that is to work it hardcore." Mick felt relief and shook his head in understanding. _That's lie number 1 Emily. Doing this to him is so wrong. If I do nothing then something bad could happen to his sister. Where would that leave the two of you if he finds out that she reached out to you and you did nothing? Deal with him being pissed later on._ Mick let Emily turn back over as they both fell asleep.

Mick woke up to an empty spot next to him, but with a note on her pillow. _I'll wrap this up as soon as I can. I love you and Lani-Em_ Mick smiled and got out of bed. After he finished doing his business, he went into the other room and saw Kehlani already wide awake and playing with her bear. "Good morning Lani" "Good Morning Daddy. Where's mommy?" "Mommy is catching bad guys. She's working extra hard so that she can spend lots of time with me and you." Mick didn't realize just how spot on he was. Emily anxiously tapped her foot the entire flight. When the plane landed, she rushed home—careful to keep a watchful eye of her surroundings. Jeanine had done everything exactly the way Emily said, but when the front door opened, she still jumped a mile in the air. "Are you okay Jeanine? Are the boys okay?" "I told them that we were having a sleepover here. They weren't too pleased when they realized that she wasn't here. Am I the reason why-" "I had a case in the States—not this case—but it was taking up a lot of time so I just went to D.C. Lani is with Mick." "Does he?" "I told you that until I know everything I'm not telling him." "If I'm remembering right, the majority of his trips were to Scottsdale." "Arizona? Well he's definitely racking up frequent flyer points. I have some contacts—other than my old and new teams—and I'll see if any of their crimes against women follow a pattern and go back two years. Are you sure that this hasn't been going on longer?" "He started becoming really distant around Neil's first birthday. Everything with him is a rollercoaster. Sometimes he comes back happy and sometimes he comes back pissed." "Neil is what, 8? Are you saying that Simon has been doing whatever has you shaken up for 7 years?" "I don't know. Maybe. It feels like it."

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"Diaper duty I'm assuming?" Cooper asked as he walked into the bullpen and saw Kehlani in Mick's lap while he did his paperwork. "Emily is putting extra hours to get this case over with." "Ah, the beauty of having a desk job. Everything is political. I have to thank my lucky stars that I'll never be in that spot." Prophet said as he leaned back in his seat. "That's because no one would ever let you run an office." Gina quipped as she gave Cooper a high-five. "Sorry to cut Daddy Day Care short but we have a case….in Scottsdale." Mick sighed as he picked up the phone to call Emily. It went to voicemail, so he assumed she was in a meeting. He called Elizabeth instead and she agreed to come pick up Kehlani. Mick came back into the bullpen after getting Kehlani situated, "So what are we looking at in Scottsdale?" "An unsub that local news stations are calling 'The Blackout Beast'" Gina said. "Well isn't that catchy?" Prophet said in a mocking tone. Cooper spoke up again, "The unsub only attacks at night and does a real number on the victims. One of the lead detectives speculates that this goes back 2-7 years but his superior doesn't buy in to that." "With a timeline that long, why are we just now being called in?" Mick asked in disbelief. "Because about 11 days ago this unsub popped his homicide cherry. Four bodies in an 11-day timeframe. We need to head out now." Cooper said while they all got up to leave.


	18. Chapter 18

"Hi Miss Emily." Neil said quietly as he munched on the sandwich that Emily had given him. "Yes sweetheart?" "Is daddy a bad guy?" "Do you think your dad is a bad guy?" Emily watched as the young boy gnawed on the inside of his cheek before looking up at Emily. "I saw him hurting mommy. Dads don't hurt moms. That makes my dad a bad guy in my opinion. What do you think?" "I think that daddies are supposed to protect you just like mommies do. I think that daddies are never supposed to hurt mommies or make their kids afraid of them. I think that daddies are supposed to get rid of the monsters, not create them." Emily watched Neil carefully and noticed how he tried to hide the tears welling up in his eyes although he tried to hide them. "Is my daddy a monster?" Emily took a deep breath before responding. On one hand, she knew that she should just tell him the truth; on the other hand, what kind of person would she be if she said that to a child. "Yes. He's a monster" a quiet voice from behind the pair caused them to both look in the direction of the doorway to the kitchen. Austin stood in the doorway looking at the ground. He looked up briefly to make eye contact before looking back down at the invisible spot on the floor in front of him. "Daddy's a monster because he hurt mommy. A daddy wouldn't hurt mommy…a monster would." Emily felt her heart break for the both of them. She left them in the kitchen to draw and went to check on Jeanine. She saw the door to the guest room closed so she quietly walked towards the back of her home. The door to Kehlani's room was slightly ajar and Emily pursed her lips before going inside. "I figured you might be in here" Emily said in a low voice. Jeanine couldn't take her eyes off of Kehlani's bed.

Jeanine felt like she was rooted in place and couldn't do anything accept blink and breathe. "Do you think that Simon was the one who pushed me down the stairs?" Emily closed her eyes for a moment willing herself to take a long breath and opened them to answer Jeanine's question. "Yes." Jeanine finally turned around, with tears brimming her eyes, at that answer; Emily elaborated. "From what you've told me and what I've observed myself, I do think that Simon may have been the one to push you. You told me that the last thing that he wanted was a daughter. You told me that he wanted to raise the boys to be just like him. You told me that he said losing the baby was a blessing in disguise. I saw with my own eyes how controlling he is. And the boys saw him physically put hands on you. All those things tell me that he is more than capable and willing to cause you the loss of your daughter." Jeanine finally let her tears fall and Emily wrapped her up in a hug. "I am so sorry Jeanine. No one should have to experience the loss of a child." Jeanine didn't want to break the contact but she pulled back anyways. "Before I left the house, I jotted down a copy of his calendar. He's going back to Scottsdale tonight."

Emily grabbed the paper from Jeanine and studied it closely. She immediately picked up on a pattern. "Jeanine does he always use Amerie's Floral Escape two weeks before his trips?" "If it's in the calendar then yes. He follows his calendar to the letter. He never deviates from it." "That says that he is obsessive and detail-oriented. This calendar proves his pattern but it still doesn't directly tie him to anything in Scottsdale. He's smart, I'll give you that. Do you know who these 'flowers' are supposedly going to?" "Clients…I think. Why?" "He could be using this flower thing as a rouse. Or he could just be sending flowers to clients or potential clients." Jeanine gave Emily a look that said 'Seriously?' Emily nodded and gave her a soft smile. "We wouldn't be in this position if he was just a nice guy. Sorry." "No, it's fine. You're right. If he were just a nice guy then we wouldn't be here. I don't think that they're clients. I'm a little paranoid when it comes to business so I make copies of a lot of stuff. I never told Simon about them and I always kept them locked in a safe under the false bottom drawer in my desk." "Smart girl." "I grabbed them before I left and came here. The copies that I have go back to when we first got together and before our businesses took off. I've always felt that keeping your bases covered protects you from law issues from hell in the future. These are copies of the both of our calendars from 11, 10, 9, 8, and 7 years ago. I took time off work after we…lost… the baby. I still have copies of Simon's trips and his calendar. I thought that he was cheating on me, so about 6 years ago, I started keeping a record of his traveling. That's when I found out that he'd been making a lot of trips to the States. He doesn't have much family, the family that he does have…they don't live in Arizona. They live in Maine. That's where he's from." Emily looked at the papers and found another link. "Simon has been going to Scottsdale for seven years. He flies into Tucson three days before the flower shop gets an order for a delivery in Scottsdale. Tucson is like 105 miles from Scottsdale so he's got to be getting a rental. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself so he goes somewhere inconspicuous." "What cities fit that description?" Jeanine asked.

Emily thought for a second, "Mesa is only 7 miles away so that's a definite no. It's way too close. Phoenix and Glendale are too big. That leaves Chandler, AZ, Mexicali, Mexico, Henderson and Paradise, NV. I'm thinking Paradise. It's far enough away to not draw any attention or connect him directly to Scottsdale and just big enough to where he seems to be just the average businessman passing through town. He has a bulletproof plan that's been working for him. Unless you truly know what you're looking for, you'd never suspect what Simon's been doing. That's what he's been counting on and it had worked pretty well for him." Jeanine watched as Emily put all the papers back into the file folder. "Wait what are you doing? What's next?" Emily got up and extended her hand to Jeanine, helping her to stand. "I'm taking you and the boys somewhere safe that I trust. I'll help you guys get your stuff together." Jeanine moved on autopilot to help Emily until she stopped in place. "And where are you going?" "Scottsdale." Jeanine stop breathing for a moment as her eyes went wide. "Are you out of your mind? Emily, you can't." "I have to. Jeanine the patterns of his travel have jumped from once a month a few months at a time to multiple times every month. Jeanine, he's escalating. He got physical with you **in front of** your sons. He is losing it. It's only a matter of time before he kills someone…if he already hasn't." "You don't even know if you can stop him." "I've got to at least try." Emily turned to walk away once everyone's bags were packed. "What about Mick? What if he finds out?" Emily went into her room to grab a few things, "He won't. He doesn't have a case right now and he won't take one while he has Lani. I can't just sit back and do nothing. Simon is out of his mind. If he goes home and doesn't see any of you, what's to stop him from going after your parents or Jenna and Nico? Regardless of whether I can stop him or not, I have to at least try."

Jeanine didn't have a response and instead grabbed Neil's hand and pulled him to stand. Emily did the same with Austin. Emily swiftly moved the three of them through the streets of London and towards a private airstrip. The got onto the small plane and settled in comfortably. An average height woman with long black hair came from the shadows of the cabin. Jeanine shifted uncomfortably as she felt her anxiety rise with every step this mystery woman took. "It's okay Jeanine. I know her and I trust her" Emily said as she rested a comforting hand on Jeanine's shoulder. "Tamia this Jeanine." "Jeanine this is Tamia." The two women shook hands and Jeanine started to relax again. She glanced up periodically to find Tamia and Emily with their noses buried in all the paper the she'd given to Emily. She then looked to her boys and they slept and touched them gently. "I'll die before I let him hurt either one of you" Jeanine whispered to her two boys. Hours passed and the only thing Jeanine could think of was Simon being the one that pushed her down the stairs. She unconsciously cradled her womb—her empty womb—and fought against the tears that threatened to form. The tears dried up on their own and a ding made her look up to see the seatbelt sign flashing. She reached over to make sure that the boys were strapped in before checking her own belt. She looked up once more and saw Emily give her a gentle smile.

The plane descended and Jeanine looked out the window to see a silver SUV with two more behind it. They all stood up and made their way down the stairs and towards the SUVs. Jeanine noticed Emily's wide grin before she ran over to a tall, stocky man with salt-and pepper hair and hugged him tightly. She pulled back and looked in Jeanine's direction and at her confused expression. "Jeanine. He's going to take really good care of you and the boys. I will contact you only when I need to. Just trust him okay? For me, just trust him." Emily said and she squeezed Jeanine's hand tightly. "Okay" she replied lowly. The mystery man loaded the family of three into the center SUV before he turned back towards Emily. He walked over to her as she motioned for Tamia to give her a second. "Thank you daddy. I can't tell you how much this means to me." "Anything for you pumpkin. I've loaded the helicopter with everything you may need. Surveillance equipment, money, weapons, first-aid…everything that you will need. I am not completely okay with this but you asked me to trust you and that's what I'm doing. Come back to me okay?" he asked as he grabbed her face with both of his hands. "You know that I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have a choice. I promise that I'll do everything in my power to come back unharmed. Also, I'm sorry for putting you in this spot with mom." "You're in the same spot with Mick. Be careful Emily. I love you." "I love you too daddy."

Emily watched as the three SUVs drove off and she started to walk towards the plane when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "You ready?" Tamia asked. "What do you mean am I ready? You are not coming with me." "Yes I am." "No, you're not. If something happens to you…how am I supposed to explain that to your mom?" "Emily. You were always there and protected Tsia until her final moments. My mom knew a long time ago that the jobs that her two daughters signed up for might not bring them home. You took the heat for a lot of mistakes that Tsia made. Those mistakes would have left me without a sister way sooner than it did. I owe you. Because of you, I got to see my sister happy and healthy. I'm coming with you end of story." Emily knew that arguing with Tamia Mosley was just as bad as arguing with Tsia. The two sisters were more alike than they realized. "Okay. You can come with me." The two women got into the black town car that was waiting near the plane and went off in the direction of the helicopter that Emily's dad left for her. They boarded the helicopter and settled in as they headed to Scottsdale. "You really are a daddy's girl." Emily laughed and opened one of the bags containing everything from assault rifles to grenades. Tamia opened the other bag and realized that it was filled to the brink with money—more than likely untraceable money. "Does daddy think that you're going to war?" Emily loaded a few guns before responding. "He doesn't know what I'm walking into and neither do I so, he wanted me to be prepared." "Well alright. Where are we going when we get there?" "A place way out of the way that my dad set up. There are at least three vehicles there in case we need to split up. You sure you ready for this?" "I'm sure. Was your dad a cop?" "Let's just say that he and his brothers had an unusual childhood."

Sheldon Prentiss had the SUVs take them to a place in Emporia, Virginia. It was the very definition of isolated and safe. With only 4,000 in the city, they all know Sheldon and would be quick to tell him if anyone unusual or unknown made an appearance. "How long are we staying here?" "Until I get the all clear from Emily" he responded to Jeanine. "How can you be okay with this? With your daughter going after my husband?" Jeanine felt as if she spoke out of turn and immediately regretted it. Sheldon paid very little attention to that and instead paused so that he could gather his thoughts and form a response. "I never said that I was okay with this. For years, my daughter has put her life on the line to protect others. She chose to work in law enforcement and she greatly enjoys it. My daughter also loves your brother enough that she'd put her relationship with him on the line to ensure the safety of his family. I am not okay with my daughter chasing a dangerous man but I know that she wouldn't be okay if you or one of your boys were to turn up severely hurt or dead because she did nothing. She's risking everything to protect you. I have to respect that because I would probably do the same thing without thinking about it." Sheldon ensured that they were all okay before bidding a goodbye and leaving a security team with them. A few hours later, he arrived home to the home that he and Elizabeth had together in Alexandria. He intended on surprising her but he got the shock of his life when he went into the kitchen and saw Elizabeth….with Kehlani sitting on the counter. "Papa!" Elizabeth looked up and gave her husband a bright smile. "This is a pleasant surprise" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a weighty kiss upon his lips. "You got that right." Elizabeth didn't notice the worry stretched across his face and she went back over to Kehlani. He did the same and picked up the little girl as she reached for him. "I thought you said that Kehlani was with Mick while Emily finished up her Interpol stuff." "She was but Mick got called on a case." "Really? Do you know where he had to go?"

"Scottsdale, Arizona I think."

"Shit."

 **A/N: Mick finds out in the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: I've broken this part of the story into two parts for you guys. Gearing up for my college graduation has kept me really busy but I hate leaving you guys hanging. Happy Reading.**_

"Is anybody else seeing this?" Mick asked as he stared at the papers in front of him. "See what?" Prophet asked as he looked over Mick's shoulder. "Well for starters, yesterday he killed someone else just as we caught the case. By the time we got here, another body dropped. His kills are up to 6 and he is not waiting around anymore. So, when I looked at the victim names, they coincide with 6 women who reported nearly identical rape stories. This guy is going back and killing his rape victims. But my question is why these women? None of their rapes are around the same time. There has to be a reason that these particular women were killed. He brutalized them before he murdered them. He'd already done a number on them with the rape but why completely destroy them before killing them?" "He's got a rage problem. Simple enough answer." Gina said nonchalantly. Mick shook his head dismissively, "No. It's something else. There is a reason—something that connects them—that he went after these 6 women."

Mick picked up the phone and dialed Garcia's number. "Well well well if it isn't my sugarplum's man candy. What can I do for you? Need some Emily tips?" Garcia said enthusiastically. "No not today. I need you to look something up for me. Are you up-to-date on our case?" "Do fairies carry pixy dust?" "Um okay. Is there anything connecting our 6 victims? Other than their rape…is there anything—recently—that connects all six of these women." Mick listened as her keyboard made a mirage of sounds. "If by recent you mean something they all did closely after their rape, then yes they all have something in common." "What did they all do after their rape?" "They all got abortions. Usually this kind of thing is kept under wraps but your victims didn't really care about privacy. They all got their abortions done at the hospital roughly three to four weeks after their rapes." "Thanks Garcia." "Of course. Toddles." Mick went back to the board and picked up the dry erase marker before moving all six victims' pictures to the corner of the board. "Got something Mick?" Cooper asked as he walked back into the conference room. "Yeah I do. We need to talk to the remaining 9 victims. I called Garcia and the thing that our vics have in common are that they had abortions after their rapes. This guy killed them because they killed his children. Twisted little bastard."

"Do we have current contact info on the remaining 9 victims?" Cooper asked as he looked to the detective that suspected that the case went further back than his superiors thought. He was grateful for the opportunity to finally be heard and jumped at the chance. "6 of the 9 women are dead. 5 suicides and 1 car crash. The last three women are still in the state. Angela Frazier, Marcy Ross, and Daphne Kilpatrick. Daphne Kilpatrick lives in Tucson now but the other two are locals." "You want to take a ride detective?" Cooper asked the younger man. He nodded and grabbed his keys. "Mick, you and Prophet head to Tucson to talk to Daphne Kilpatrick. Gina, Beth, you two go talk to Marcy Ross."

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"Tamia, do you see this?" Emily asked as she used a thumbtack to add a document to the wall. Tamia stepped over the files that they had laid out on the floor and walked over to where Emily was. "The flower deliveries. They keep jumping all over Scottsdale but when I called and _strongly_ suggested that they tell me what I want to know, I was told that the respondent was always at a new address. The woman constantly refused the flowers but Simon obviously wouldn't take no for an answer. When the flower orders were placed, they checked with the intended recipient and she always gave them a different address." "Why would he specifically keep giving this woman flowers. How can a man be so dedicated to something like that? What power does she hold over him to have him jumping through hoops to send her flowers more times in 6 years than most people get in a lifetime?" Tamia asked. Emily thought about what Jeanine had said to her about losing their daughter six years ago. "The woman's name is Daphne Kilpatrick. She received the first bouquet of flowers about two weeks after her rape. That was the only time that she personally received them and they went to about a million different places in the past six years. Tamia, has anything significant happened in Daphne's life since the rape? Something major? Daphne has more power over Simon that anyone—including her—realizes."

"I'm not following but let me look some things up." Emily popped her knuckles while trying to wrap her brain around the new information. She heard the computer behind her and she tapped her nails against the counter she was next to. "You were right. After her rape, she took crazy fast steps to changing her life. She started looking up jobs on the east coast and even some out of the country. She disappeared nearly a year after her rape and popped back up in the States 15 months after her rape. She took a position that her job offered in Minnesota. Two years ago, she came back to Arizona but in a position with her job in Tucson. She also posted on her normally inactive social media that she was supposed to get married two weeks ago."

"Supposed to? What happened?" Emily asked as she grabbed a pen and notepad. "Damn that sucks. Her fiancé, a Tucson cop, was murdered while he was off-duty. Face bashed in with a brick right outside of the church they were supposed to be married in. She has pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth once again. Her mail still goes to a Tucson address. We're what a half hour away? You want to go talk to her?" "Yeah I do. Grab a couple of guns because we still don't know what we'll be walking into." The two women left and climbed into a sleek black car and drove off in the direction of Daphne's residence in Tucson.

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Elizabeth put Kehlani down in the playpen and went back into the kitchen. Sheldon had his back turned to her but her could feel her glare boring into the back of his hell. "You want to tell me why you reacted the way that you did when I told you were Mick was?" "I don't know what you mean Liz." "Don't do that. Don't patronize me. Why did you have that reaction?" Sheldon didn't want to lie to Elizabeth but he felt like he didn't have a choice. "I'm going to spend some quality time with Kehlani. I don't get to see her nearly as much as I'd like to." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her husband's retreating form. She knew that he was hiding something but she just didn't know what. She thought that maybe Emily had something planned for Mick and Sheldon just didn't want to ruin the surprise. Elizabeth knew that Emily had a remarkably good and big heart although she tried to hide it from the world. Elizabeth picked up her phone and called Emily's office.

"Yes. This is Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss. I wanted to know if my daughter if available for a few moments." "I'm sorry Ambassador but I'm afraid that she isn't." "Okay. Could you give me a time that you'd think she'd be available?" "I'm sorry if I'm confusing you Ambassador. Chief Prentiss will not be available here anytime soon. She recused Interpol from the investigation and took time off to be with her family." Elizabeth stood with her mouth open before closing it once again. "When did this happen?" "Three days ago, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry for the confusion." "That's okay. Thank you for your time." Elizabeth put the phone down on the counter and stalked towards the living room where her granddaughter and husband were. Sheldon looked up as Elizabeth walked into the grand living room and automatically knew that he was in trouble. He kissed Kehlani's forehead and whispered, "Papa needs to talk to Nana okay?" "Okay" Kehlani said as she went back to mashing the puzzle pieces together. The two adults walked into the foyer and Elizabeth turned around with fire in her eyes.

"Where is she Sheldon?" "Elizabeth. Please calm down." "Don't! I am your wife! You don't get to do this. You don't get to lie to me about where my daughter is! Neither one of you can just lie and hide things from not only me but Mick as well! I called the office where Emily is supposed to be only to find out that she hasn't been there in three days and told everyone that she was taking time off to spend with her family. How exactly is she spending time with her family if she is nowhere to be found? At first, I was under the impression that she had some surprise for Mick, but somehow, I don't think that is the case. Then I thought that she was planning something for Kehlani but that can't be because she hasn't checked in since she 'took time off to be with her family'. So, I'll ask you again, where is she because I have the feeling that you are the only person who knows?" Sheldon let out a deep breath, "Can you relax for like five seconds so that I can tell you." Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest, "Tell me everything you know. Don't leave out a single detail."

"A few days ago, Mick's sister Jeanine called her saying that she was afraid of her husband. Jeanine is under the impression that Simon is a rapist and murderer in Arizona." "The Scottsdale guy?" Sheldon looked at her pointedly, "I'm sorry for interrupting. Continue please." "Yes, the Scottsdale guy. Jeanine thinks that her husband pushed her down a flight of stairs which killed their unborn daughter. She called Emily because he came back last week and had scratches on his face and chest. She said that he got physical with her…in front of her kids. Emily told her to get rid of her phone and go to Emily's place." "She's at Emily's flat?" Sheldon blew out a breath. "No. Emily called me and I helped fly all of them over under the radar. Emily and I agreed on a place for Jeanine and her boys to hide out." "Emily's not with them? Where is she?" "Arizona." Elizabeth's eyes went wide and she felt her heart stop momentarily. "Are you out of your mind? Why is she there?" "Why do you think Liz? She's there because she wants to put an end to this whole mess." "So, you thought it was okay to just let our daughter go off on a vigilante mission that could get her killed?" "What was I supposed to do Liz? You know how she gets when her mind is set on something. I couldn't stop her if I tried. All I did was make sure that she was as safe and protected as possible given the circumstances." "And what about Mick? He obviously doesn't know. If they are working on the same case, then how long do you think that it'll take for them to run into each other? Mick brought Kehlani here because he had to work and he believed that Emily was working in an office that she told him she'd be in. How do you think he's going to take it when he finds out that Emily is lying to him, hiding his sister, and gearing up for a battle with his brother-in-law?"

"I can imagine that his reaction will be similar to yours." "Has she checked in?" "She's not supposed to for a couple more hours." "Where is Jeanine?" "Liz-" "Where is she?" "Emporia." Elizabeth walked past Sheldon and grabbed her keys before walking into the living room to pick up Kehlani and her go-bag. She walked back into the foyer with Kehlani on her hip. "Liz, where are you going?" She dropped the keys into the palm of Sheldon's hand. "You are taking us to go see Jeanine. Don't argue with me. I need to meet the woman that has my daughter risking her life. If she's lying, I'll know it and I'll kill her myself." Sheldon shook his head and led them to the car. They drove in uncomfortable silence the entire way. Kehlani had dozed off halfway through the car ride. Sheldon's phone rang and he knew it was Emily checking in. "Hi daddy. I'm checking in the way that you asked." "Thanks for that peanut. Listen, your mother knows." "I figured as much. Trust me, if I'd checked in with Mick then he'd know too." "Are you being careful? Do you have any leads?" "Daddy, we agreed to discuss as little as possible about this. I have to go. Kiss Kehlani for me and tell mom that I'm sorry she's in this position." Sheldon was about to respond when he heard the dial tone. "So that's that huh?" Elizabeth said as she pursed her lips. Sheldon stayed quiet as they drove past the welcome sign and rolled through the quiet town that was Emporia.

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"I don't think she's here." Tamia said as she tapped her foot on the edge of the porch. They both heard walking before the front door opened. "Hi, are you Daphne Kilpatrick?" The slender brunette looked at them curiously. "Yes, and you are?" "I'm no one." "Well what do you want no one?" "I wanted to ask you about the flower deliveries that you've been receiving for 6 years." Daphne stiffened at that statement. "I haven't received any flowers for the past 6 years. Funeral homes and P.O. boxes have had an overwhelming amount of gifts from a floral shop." "Do you know who's been sending them?" "My guess would be the man who raped me. The flowers started coming right after I was raped and never stopped. After the first time, I got smart and started getting them rerouted to funeral homes and P.O. boxes. I never picked the same neighborhood twice so it just seemed like I moved around a lot." "Why did you leave Scottsdale?" Emily asked gently. "I'm not sure. Maybe it was me being brutalized in my home. Maybe it was the big fuck you that I kept getting in the form of flowers. I left because I needed to." "Where did you go if you don't mind me asking?" "At first, I used all of my accrued time and vacation time. I went to New York only to find out that it was way too big. I went to D.C. only to find out that it was way too conservative. I went to Seattle, but I couldn't stand the rain. I went to Cannes and realized that I was homesick. I missed the States so I came back." "When did you go to Cannes?" "5 and ½ years ago." "What brought you back to Arizona?" "I took a promotion and transferred to the offices my company has in Tucson." "Is that where you met your…fiancé?" Daphne's eyes readily filled with tears, "Yes. That's where I met Gus. His full name was Gustavo Ridel. He had worked with the Tucson police for about 9 years before I met him. We fell in love quickly. I fell madly in love with him because he loved me in spite of my past. He asked me to marry him and I didn't hesitate. That all went to hell when he was murdered."

"So, Ms. No One who exactly are you?" "The person who is going to try and catch the man that took a piece of your life." Emily and Tamia were about to turn around to walk off when a small voice and running caught their attention. "Mommy can we play now?" the little girl asked as she looked up at her mom expectantly. Emily's jaw dropped. "How old is your daughter?" "She's five." Daphne said as she protectively hid her daughter behind her legs. "Where was she born?" "Cannes. I acquired dual citizenship, which is what she's under." "Within the last two weeks, have you done anything drastically?" "The only thing that I've done is going down to the courthouse and took Gus's name off of adoption paperwork. "Adoption paperwork?" "Brenda go back inside sweetheart." Daphne watched as she ran off into the distance. "Her father is the pathetic bastard that raped me. I thought about having an abortion but I'd wanted a child for so long that I couldn't go through with it. Instead, I ran and I kept moving until I found a safe place for her. This is the most settled that we have been for a while. Gus made me feel safe and he made Brenda feel safe. I will die before I let anyone harm her." "Thank you for your time." Emily and Tamia left Daphne's house and pulled off and into traffic.

"What are you thinking Emily?" "Is adoption paperwork on a non-U.S. citizen public information?" "Hell no. Not federally at least. Maybe if those documents were filed locally, someone could get their hands on them." "We need to check and see if those documents are accessible to the public. I'm thinking that the stressor that caused him to kill previous victims was his second victim giving birth to his daughter. It's possible that the victims he killed may have had abortions or given their children away. That would definitely cause a problem. Daphne was pregnant at the same time that Jeanine was. Those flowers were not out of remorse but a thank you. That son of a bitch was thanking her for giving birth to his child. He feels like without him, she wouldn't have a daughter. If he was this dedicated to Daphne then the other women must have had abortions or something. He punished them by murdering them. If she had Brenda in Cannes, then it's entirely possible that he could've seen her. Simon and Jeanine lived in Nice until 2 years ago when they moved back to London. It isn't completely unbelievable." "Well he is a bonafide stalker so I buy it. Where do we go from here?" Tamia asked as she put the key in the ignition and turned it. "We need to find out absolutely everything we can about Daphne before and after the rape. We also need to find out anything we can about her fiancé and her daughter." Emily said as she pulled out a laptop and placed it on her lap.

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"Why did you call Emily?" Jeanine shuddered under the intense glare of Elizabeth Prentiss. "I-I-I- called her be-because she told me that I cou-could call her anytime. I was afraid and she was the only person that I could trust, ma'am." "If my daughter gets seriously injured or dies cleaning up your mess, then so help me I will strangle you with my bare hands. She has a family. She has a little girl and a man that would do anything to keep her happy. Your own brother. Did you even think about any of that before you involved her?" "I have two little boys. What about my family?" "She is my daughter! She's my only child! What about her? Did you think about her safety or her child? No, you were only being selfish. You were only thinking of yourself."

Sheldon made his presence known when Elizabeth's voice got louder and the space between her and Jeanine get smaller. "Liz." Elizabeth whipped around with fury in her eyes, "Don't you dare! You chose to lie to me. You chose to let Emily go down this road to protect her! Let me ask the both of you this, if something happens to her, how am I supposed to explain that to Kehlani…to Mick?" Silence fell over the room in that moment.

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"Will you just call her already?" Prophet said from the driver's side as he saw Mick fidgeting with the phone in his hand. "She's busy putting in time to finish her case." "You don't find it odd at all that she hasn't checked in what like three days. Just call her. Five seconds is better than nothing at all." Mick let out a sigh and dialed the number where Emily was supposed to be. After a few rings, a peppy woman answered the phone.

"Hi, my name is Mick Rawson. I was wondering if you could connect me to Chief Prentiss please?"

 **A/N: This part of the story was really long and I'm almost done with the second part because I wanted to give you guys something to read for now. I'll post it as soon as I'm finished. Thanks for reading.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Emily. I think I found something." Tamia said gently as she watched Emily pace back and forth with crime scene photos in her hands. The slim brunette didn't stop pacing but she did lock eyes with Tamia. Tamia enlarged the document on the laptop in front of her. "When Brenda Kilpatrick was two, she was diagnosed with Gaucher Disease. It's basically the absence of the glucocerebrosidase enzyme. She was diagnosed with Type 3. Her symptoms at the time of diagnosis were severe deficiencies and difficulty with her spleen and liver. They tried enzyme replacement therapy but it did nothing. They took drastic measures and did a bone marrow transplant. She got the transplant done in Nice. It's a genetic disease but not on Daphne's side. I thoroughly checked her genetics and she wasn't even a carrier for it." "So that would mean that Brenda got it from her father's side. Does Simon have it? Does anyone else in his family have it?" Emily waited patiently for an answer and her phone started buzzing. She saw that it was Mick and silenced it immediately. "Simon also has Type 3 and received a bone marrow transplant when he was 11. The only other person who has it in his family is his mother. She lives in Maine. Wait a minute…Daphne lived in Maine for about 4 months after Brenda got the transplant. Do you know specifically where Simon is from?" "Augusta, Maine. 980 Bradshaw Lane, I think." "Daphne lived at 974 Bradshaw Lane in Augusta. She was two doors down from Simon's childhood where his mother still lives. What do you keep staring at over there?" "I'm trying to figure out when he met all these women. They all worked in different places, dined all over the city, lived in completely different neighborhoods, and were in completely different socioeconomic classes. Some of them had debt, some had none at all."

Tamia remained quiet as she let Emily think out loud. "Can you see if their jobs had a temp agency on the premises or any temps loaned out to their workplaces?" Tamia didn't hide the confusion but looked for the information anyways. "No. they didn't use the same temp agency. Wait a second, the names may be different but the address is the same for the temp agencies that went to each workplace. The temp service looks to have had a contract for three months with each company. They only sent men to each workplace. He was there for two weeks before moving on. The names are all different so, give me a second and I'll see if I can find a picture. Okay here we go, the faces are all the same and they are none other than….Simon." Emily walked over to the computer and gave a look of satisfaction. "Got you, you little bastard." "How did you know to ask about temps?" "When I was in college, I worked as a temp and they sent me to five different offices for the 8 months that I worked for them. I was usually some office hot shot's assistant. That meant that with a few key strokes, I knew everything about their personal life. I thought about looking for temps on a hunch and I was right. If Simon pretended to be a temp, then he had the opportunity to know everything about these women without them even knowing. That was how he chose his victims. That's why the victimology is all over the place."

"Okay, I follow that. What I don't follow is how this connects to his fixation on Daphne." Tamia said. "I think that he tried to keep up with her after the rape. Maybe she fought back the hardest or maybe she submitted to him more than his other victims. I'm thinking that she did a great job of hiding her pregnancy. That hereditary disease that was passed on to Brenda is pretty rare. If she got treatment in Nice that saved her life, then I doubt very seriously that he didn't find out about it. After all, he is a large donator to the hospital where she received treatment." "Okay, so what's the end game? Why now?" "It's possible that after he found out about Brenda's treatment that he spent a lot of time trying to find her. He may have had a lead when he found out that she lived two doors down from his mother. From what I hear, they're pretty close so it's not unbelievable that she didn't mention someone new in the neighborhood to him. She's done a really good job of staying hidden. I think that now he finally got his chance and took it. I mean come on, he killed one daughter…why wouldn't he want to kill the other." "Shouldn't we be heading back to her place?" Tamia asked as she stood up and closed the laptop. "I don't think that he'll be there. If he's been watching her then it's safe to assume that he won't run the risk of going to her place." "So where would he go?"

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Gina and Beth returned to the police station looking frustrated. "Marcy Ross was a bust. She doesn't remember anything distinguishing about her rapist. However, she did get pregnant as a result of the rape. She had a son. He is about to turn 5 in 7 months. You get anything Coop?" Gina asked. "We pretty much got the same thing with Angela Frazier. She only remembers that he smelled like raisins, not that it really helps us much. She too got pregnant from the rape and also had a son. He's 3. While we wait on Mick and Prophet, let's run down what we know. Both Marcy and Angela remember very little about their rape. They both had sons and have not been targeted again. Both women stayed local and put it behind them as much as possible. Our guy had to be satisfied with their decisions after the rape because they are both still very much alive and unharmed. Do we know anything about Daphne Kilpatrick?" "No we only know that she fell off the face of the Earth and only recently popped back up." "She's been hiding something." Cooper picked up his phone and called Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to look into a complaint that Angela Frazier filed with Human Resources about a month before her rape." "Little Ms. Blonde Bombshell Angela filed a HR complaint against…huh that's weird. She filed it against a temp. She said that at first he merely made her uncomfortable by staring at her, then she would see him outside of work. It wasn't enough to get a restraining order so she filed a complaint." "Do you know who the guy was?" "His name was Jack Sinise which is obviously a fake because I can't find him anywhere. I managed to hack into the camera feed from that day. Give me a second and I'll see if I can get a good shot of his face. I got him. I'm sending it to you now." "Thanks Garcia. I'll talk to you later." Cooper waited for the image to come through and looked up when Mick and Prophet walked in with anger set square in the middle of their faces. "Any luck with Daphne?" Cooper asked. Mick refused to answer and everyone saw his jaw tightened. "She wasn't home. She's missing. We put out an alert and there were signs of a struggle. One of her neighbors said that she had two female visitors two hours before we got there. There's something else Coop….she's got a daughter and she's missing too." Cooper shook his head as he looked at his phone once more. "Are you going to tell them?" Prophet asked as he nudged Mick. Cooper spun back around, "Tell us what?" Mick still refused to talk so Prophet spoke up. "Emily isn't in D.C. She went AWOL days ago and isn't returning Mick's calls." "What does this have to do with this case?" "Don't you dare Prophet", Mick snarled out. Prophet got ready to speak again when Mick suddenly grabbed him forcefully and shoved him into a nearby wall. "Shut your fucking mouth!" The sudden action startled all of Mick's team and it took them a second to react.

Cooper pulled Mick off of Prophet. "What the hell is going on?" Cooper nearly yelled. "Mick called Emily's office and found out that she wasn't there. Then, he called her mom and she told him that Emily was here working on a case." "Okay, so what? Look I just got a photo from Garcia. This is probably our guy. Do me a favor, tuck the bullshit and do your job. Mick or Prophet, I don't care which one, blow this photo up and get it out to all these officers and start canvasing. We need an id ASAP." Mick snatched the paper out of Cooper's hand and balled it up after looking at it. He threw it to the ground and took off out the precinct. "What the hell is wrong with him?" Gina said as her hands settled firmly on her hips. Prophet unballed the photo and sighed heavily. "Care to share?" Beth said with a curious look on her face. "This is Mick's brother-in-law Simon. Emily is here doing a favor and I'm betting it's got something to do with this guy. It's no coincidence that us, Simon, and Emily are all here at the same time. We're all working the same case. I have to go find him before he goes ballistic." Prophet said as he put the photo down and took off in a jog after Mick.

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"Emily, an alert just came in. It looks like Daphne's place has been ransacked; her and Brenda are missing." "He's got them. Simon has the both of them." Tamia stopped the car abruptly. "Where the hell would he take them?" Emily thought for a second before speaking. "If I were him and I had the FBI closing in on me, I would go somewhere private but also somewhere that's symbolic for me…..her office. Is her Scottsdale office still in use?" "No. It was one of the first places I checked. It's been closed for like three years and set for demolition in a few days." "Turn the car around. That's where he has them." "What's his end game?" Tamia asked. Emily let out a solemn breath, "Murder-suicide probably because there's no way a guy like Simon will survive in jail."

Silence fell over the car as they went in the direction of the abandoned office.

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"What did you just do Elizabeth?" Sheldon asked Elizabeth. "I was not going to lie to him! Just because you can lie with ease-" "Don't! I did what I had to do Elizabeth. You can be mad at what I did but I still stand by my decision. It was better to send her with supplies than to let her go with nothing at all." "This is Mick's case! How was that supposed to pan out?" "I don't know! Why are you putting all of this on me? It's not my fault. It was Emily's decision and not mine. She didn't come to you because she knew that you'd have this reaction. It's probably the same reason why she didn't say anything to Mick! The two of you act on emotion rather than logic!"

The bickering couple stopped speaking when they heard footsteps. "Papa, Nana Lizbeth no fight." They could both see that Kehlani was on the verge of tears and immediately felt bad. Elizabeth rushed over and picked the toddler up before looking at Sheldon once more, "At least we have emotions." She grabbed their things and went outside to the car. Sheldon let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He looked up when a figure appeared in the doorway. "Is everything okay?" Jeanine asked hesitantly.

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"Time to wake up." That cold distant voice made her blood run cold. "Daphne! Open your eyes." Daphne reluctantly looked up at Simon. "Where is my daughter?" "That little ingrate is not important." "She is my daughter!" "She is something you should have gotten rid of from the beginning." Daphne took deep breaths as her eyes followed Simon's every move. The room that she was in looked so familiar…too familiar. Although there wasn't any furniture or desks, Daphne knew that it was her old office. She could only hope that someone would find them and save Brenda—Brenda mattered more than she did.

Daphne watched as he circled her like prey once more before he stopped walking completely and sat down in a chair not that far from the one she was tied up in. "What are you going to do to me? You going to kill me?" Simon smiled before pulling out a knife and toying with the tip of the blade. "Not at all. I plan on getting rid of little Brenda and making you watch. How long did you think it would take for me to find out about her?" Daphne was about to answer but Simon held a hand up to silence her. "At first, I had my suspicions but I thought that you had an abortion. Then after extensively tracking you down, I find out that not only did you have my child but you had a girl. I detest girls." "Because you destroy them" Daphne spat out. Fearful eyes met cold ones, "Because they ruin everything. They are too needy for affection and don't have the capacity to be leaders." "You mean they don't have the capacity to be a rapist like you."

Simon punched Daphne in the mouth. She was momentarily stunned and felt the blood trickle into her open mouth as the distinct metallic taste hit her tongue. "You will show me respect." "Like your wife does?" Daphne finally managed to catch Simon off guard and his shocked expression egged her on. "You forgot to take your wedding ring off this time" she said as she motioned towards his hands. "Either you just got married or she is truly brainwashed by you. She is off her rocker to follow your every command. I feel sorry for her." "Shut your mouth! She does as she's told. She doesn't disobey me. She knows better." "Bullshit! Everyone has a breaking point…even your wife. How long do you think it's going to take for her to 'disobey you' if she already hasn't? I'm almost positive that your wife has at least one ally." "She has me and that's all she needs."

Daphne hung her head momentarily before lifting it again with fire blazing in her eyes. "How did you find out about Brenda?" "You were in Nice. I lived in Nice for quite some time. I am also good friends with the hospital administrator where she got treatment. Don't you see? I own you. I control your every move." "You don't own me. I am not your property!" Simon chuckled, "I have you right where I want you and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. You have no idea what I am capable of." "The only thing that you're capable of is raping women and implanting your defective sperm into them. You are a coward. I will die before I bow down to you." "You will give me a son first and then we can revisit that death conversation. There was always something special about you." "Did you kill my fiancé?" "Yes, I did." Daphne couldn't hide the tears that clouded her vision. "Why?" she managed to croak out. Simon straightened out the cufflink on his shirt before responding. "He was trying to adopt that vermin that you call your daughter." "Don't call my daughter vermin; what does that have to do with you?" "If the adoption went through then, it would put a major kink into my plan." "So, you just bash a man's head in with a brick? What is your plan?" "You must learn to listen better. I detest girls; therefore, once I found out about her, I decided that she needed to be exterminated. Nothing and no one will stand in my way. Besides, you are mine and not his!" "Brenda is not a fucking bug! She is a child! She is an innocent child with her whole life ahead of her! Kill me instead of her because if you kill her then I'll already be dead inside."

Simon stepped forward and brought his face eye-level with hers, "If you had a boy then we wouldn't be here right now. How do you expect me to get a son from you if I kill you? Her life ended the moment you gave birth to her. Mother and I have never had a use for girls." "You have some sick and twisted love affair with your mother? Who are you? Norman Bates?" Simon gave a wide grin, "My name is Simon Griffin. My mother is Diane Griffin. You too have met, correct?" Daphne's face paled as she recognized the name as the woman who lived two doors down from her in Maine.

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"Mick! Slow down before you kill us both." Prophet said quite alarmed as Mick weaved recklessly through incoming traffic. "She's a liar. She lied to my face. She could have told me the truth and I would've handled it myself." "Mick, mate-" "I tracked the GPS chip that Daphne put in her daughter's watch to the old building where she used to work. It's out best option right now." Prophet pulled out his cell and relayed the information to Cooper and the rest of their team.

Back at the building, Emily and Tamia pulled their weapons as they slowly walked up to the large building. Emily flattened her body against the cold brick building and Tamia did the same as two stocky men with automatic weapons seemed to be walking the perimeter. Tamia slowly pulled out a thin, but durable, piece of cord and gave one to Emily. Both women jumped the men from behind and pulled the cord tight against their windpipe and jugular. Once the men dropped to their knees, both women shoved one of their knees into the middle of their backs and yanked their heads back further. Emily heard a cracking sound with the guy she held before he collapsed backwards in her direction. The gurgling sound of fluid hit Tamia's ears before she loosened her grip as the body in front of her went limp. They both grabbed their weapons again and crept as quietly as possible to the main entrance. With a gentle tug, Emily deduced that the front doors were all locked. Both women split up into opposite directions to check the other doors on the ground floor. They bumped into each other as they came full circle. Emily looked up, "Mind giving me a boost?" Tamia complied immediately and helped Emily climb to the second level. Emily wrapped her legs tightly around the thick pole that she was sitting on before swinging her upper body down and stretching out her hands. Tamia did a small run before jumping up to meet Emily's dangling arms. On the second go, Tamia gripped Emily's hands as the brunette use the strength of her forearms to secure her grip on Tamia before lifting both of their bodies up.

Emily found an open window and went in first before Tamia followed. They with their backs pressed together as they ensured that no one would catch them off guard. They got near a stairwell when Tamia saw a ribbon on the ground. She nudged Emily, who turned around and whispered, "Brenda was wearing a polka-dot ribbon earlier today." A small shift against metal rang in Emily's eyes as she darted around, gun drawn, at the sound. Emily let out a small sigh of relief when she saw Brenda tied to a beam in the corner of the hallway. She lifted her finger to her own lips, signaling that Brenda needed to be quiet. The little girl nodded her head, but her eyes went wide as she saw Emily pull out a knife. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get you out of this rope, okay?" Another tentative nod gave Emily the permission to continue. Once Brenda was untied, Emily took her over to Tamia. "Get her out of here Mia." "What about you?" "I need to find Daphne. The last thing that she needs to see is what I may find. The two of you won't be able to make that jump, so you'll have to find another way out." Tamia didn't want to leave Emily, but Brenda didn't need to see anymore. Emily took the stairs two at a time until she reached the fifth floor. She heard raised voices and knew that she must be close to Simon and Daphne.

Just as she was about to take a step forward, an average-sized man was within spitting distance of her. He hadn't noticed her, so she took the chance and grabbed the knife from the holster on her cargo pants. She tiptoed behind him and put one hand over his mouth as she rammed the knife at an upward angle in his back before twisting it roughly. She lowered his body into the small space of a nearby deserted cubicle. She tried to ignore the wild beating of her heart and the constricting feeling in her chest. For the first time since she started all this…she was scared out of her mind.

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"Did you kill all those women on the news?" Daphne asked in a defeated voice. "They had it coming. They aborted my children, so they had to die." "You are truly demented and buck fucking nuts if you think that rape justifies you having parental rights let alone you deciding to play God with someone's life!" Daphne took another blow to the face. She'd stopped feeling the hits and reveled in the satisfaction that came with getting Simon riled up. She hoped that she could use this strategy until she figured out a way to save her daughter. "I have one last question before I kill the brat. You had a visitor earlier today. Who did you see? What did they say?" Through the swelling eye and the badly split lip, Daphne looked up with defiance in her eyes. "I saw no one. No one said anything to me." "Wrong answer." Simon walked away and ignored Daphne's pleas for Brenda's life. He got into the stairwell and felt a hand on the back of his head before his face me the unforgiving concrete wall. Stunned at first, it took Simon a moment to register the kicks and punches until one hit him in the eye so bad that he could no longer see out of it.

Emily had the upper hand and took advantage of it until she miscalculated a kick and Simon yanked her ankle until she hit the landing at the top of the stairs. He punched her hard in the chest before rising to his feet. He went to kick her and felt a stabbing pain in his calf before realizing that Emily had stabbed him. She grabbed her by the neck and lifted her against the wall until her feet were no longer on the ground. Simon was significantly taller than Emily so he continued to push her body up against the wall as his grip on her neck tightened. Emily's vision became blurred and the black spots were taking over her normally 20/20 outlook. She clawed at his hand as the color drained from her face. She used the last bit of energy she had to lift her leg up higher. She was wearing boots with a slim high heel, so she shoved her foot, as hard as she could, into Simon's right eye. His screams bounced off the small corridor as he let her go and her body hit the ground with an audible thump. The pain was ignored as Emily focused on breathing; Simon couldn't hide the amount of pain he was in. He gripped the wall for support and forced his one good eye open to find Emily. She was taking large gulps of air in and pushing them out. He staggered over to her and before she could react, Simon drew his leg as far back as it would go and swung it forward and kicked Emily down the flight of stairs. He couldn't even watch in satisfaction as her body tumbled down the stairs because of the amount of pain he was in. Emily was unconscious as she laid at the bottom of the stairs.

Mick and Prophet got out the car and immediately ran towards the building. They got to the front door just as Tamia shot it out before kicking away all the glass and picking Brenda up and going through it. "Where's Emily?" Mick asked frantically. "We found her on the 4th floor and she went up so-" Tamia couldn't finish her sentence before Mick and Prophet took off inside the building. Less than two minutes later, Cooper, Gina, and Beth pulled up and got out the SUV with their guns drawn. "Probably the 5th floor", Tamia said as she pointed to the building behind her. Beth stayed with her and Brenda as Gina took off after Cooper, who had already sprinted into the building.

Simon hugged the staircase as he clumsily descended the stairs in an attempt to finish Emily off. She started to come to and groan at the pain she was feeling in her body, mostly her head. Mick felt his heart stop when he got to the stairwell and saw Emily's limp body lying on the ground. He went over to her immediately and looked up to see Simon charging at him. He dodged the assault and rammed Simon into the brick wall in a nearby hallway. Simon dropped to his knees with a grunt and Mick kicked him repeatedly in the chest. Simon tried charging Mick again and failed as Mick got him in a chokehold. Prophet was frozen in place the minute that he saw Emily. He snapped out of his daze when she moved. He went over to her and turned her over slowly. "Emily. Show me those pretty brown eyes" he pleaded. Slowly she opened her eyes and Prophet felt his heartrate slow down. Emily pointed to the top of the stairs and mumbled out "Daphne" Prophet turned to get Mick's attention and saw Gina and Cooper turn the corner. "Emily needs help; can one of you come with me to find Daphne?" Cooper knew what Prophet was doing seeing as how Mick still had Simon in a chokehold. Gina went over to Emily and Cooper and Prophet ran up the stairs to find Daphne.

"Do you think this is over? I'll get out. I'll kill them all. I'll kill Jeanine, Nina, Archer, Jenna, and Nico. And when I'm done with them, I'm going to kill you, Emily, and that little bastard of a daughter that she has. You may try to stop me but my sons will be just like me. I own Jeanine. I will rip everything you love away." During Simon's rant, Mick stared into Emily's eyes with anger; however, she didn't see anger…she saw Mick killing Simon. In that moment, she was right because the sound of Simon's neck breaking echoed throughout the otherwise quiet stairwell. Emily couldn't tear her eyes away from Mick. He dropped Simon's lifeless body and walked away. Emily felt a lone tear force its way down her cheek. Gina rubbed a soothing hand on her back before helping her to stand. Emily looked up as she heard footsteps and saw a battered Daphne walking down the steps with the help of Prophet and Cooper. The two women shared a look of understanding as Cooper noticed Simon's lifeless body. "What happened?" "He fought back. Mick had no choice. It was self-defense." Gina said smoothly. "That's what I thought" Cooper said with a silent nod of the head.

Although Emily knew that Mick was still pissed her, she couldn't help but feel that it was all worth it as she saw mother and daughter reunited. She turned her head and saw Jeanine and so many other women's nightmare get wheeled into the back of a coroner's van. She took the icepack off her head and gave it back to the paramedic as she waked over to Mick. She reached out to touch him but he moved away quickly. "Don't touch me" Mick said it an eerily calm voice. Emily felt fresh tears prick her eyes, "Mick" she whispered, trying to hide the sob that threaten to escape. "You lied to my face and decided to go off on a vigilante mission. You didn't trust me enough to tell me. Jeanine is my sister and you should have told me. You obviously don't trust me so it's only fair that I don't trust you either. Until I found out the truth, do you have any idea what was going through my mind?" "What did you think was going on?" Emily asked in a low voice. Mick's silence and eye contact avoidance answered her question. "You thought I was cheating on you?" Mick looked up and saw the tears welling in her eyes. He felt awful and reached out but she recoiled, "Don't." "You need to go spend time with your daughter." "My daughter? So, she's not yours?" "I didn't say that." "It was implied. Since you obviously think I'm a whore, I'll just go and spend time with **my** daughter."

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Jeanine and her boys were back on a plane to London after finding out about Simon. She was relieved, hurt, confused, angry, and a host of other emotions. One thing she was not was scared. She agreed that she's go back and tell her family everything from beginning to end. Mick barely acknowledged her, not that she could blame him. The tension at the Prentiss home in Alexandria was thick. Sheldon and Elizabeth wouldn't stay in the same room together. Elizabeth and Emily hadn't shared more than 20 words. Mick barely came around; he came around long enough for Kehlani to think it was normal. She wasn't a dumb kid and immediately picked up on the silence with her parents and grandparents. The one time that Mick and Emily were in a room together, she cried her eyes out when they started to argue. Emily picked her up and stormed upstairs as Mick stormed out. Sheldon and Mick didn't dare talk to each other because it wouldn't only end up in a fight.

After nearly 3 weeks of avoidance, Mick came to the Prentiss home. He rang the doorbell and Emily answered. She was dressed in sweats with her hair piled on top of her head. She looked tired but absolutely radiant to Mick. "You're staring" Emily pointed out emotionlessly. Mick cleared his throat, "Sorry. I just wanted to see Kehlani, if that's okay." Emily stepped back and let him in. "She's asleep but you can go in her room. I'm going back to bed." Mick felt guilty that he'd been treating Emily the way that he had. After about an hour of watching the toddler sleep, Mick walked to Emily's room and knocked on the door. There was no response, so he slowly turned the doorknob and poked his head into the room. Emily was sitting upright in her bed and staring out the window. He walked over quietly and sat on the edge of the bed. Emily felt the bed dip and knew that it was him. He was the only person that'd have the balls to invade her privacy.

"What do you want Mick?" "You." "Well, I'm not Burger King, you can't have it your way." "Emily, I'm sorry." "Sorry doesn't always fix everything." Stunned, Mick's eyes went wide as he looked at her but she refused to make eye contact. "What are you saying Emily?" "I'm saying that you know where the door is." "What if I don't want to use it?" Emily finally turned to Mick, "What if I want you to?"


	21. Chapter 21

"I told you that I could give you this one day. You didn't believe me, did you?" Mick asked as he wrapped his hands around Emily's waist from behind. Emily relaxed in his embrace and smiled to herself. "Don't get cocky Rawson. I had to agree to all of this didn't I? Without me there would be no this." Emily said smugly as she folded her arms over her chest. Mick grabbed her hand and lifted it up higher. "I believe that this is the reason that you 'agreed to all of this'." he said while staring at the diamond ring on her finger. "Well, you know what they say. Diamonds are a girl's best friend." Emily said smiling. Mick just stared at her in adoration. After a while, Emily started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze and looked away for a moment. "Mick. Mick. Mick. Mick!"

Mick was startled awake and felt something wet drench his arm. He looked over and saw a bowl of cereal turned over on his arm as well as on the floor next to the couch he was sleeping on. Once he got all his bearings, Mick rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up slowly. He looked up and saw Prophet holding a diaper bag with Kehlani in his other arm. "Emily's dad just dropped her off. I came by earlier to check on you and saw that your place was a wreck. I let you sleep and cleaned up a bit. I remember you saying that Lani was coming over but I doubt that her granddad would've dropped her off after seeing how dirty it was. I lied and told him that you were showering." Prophet stopped talking to take a much- needed breath of air. "Are you okay mate?" he probed. Mick ran a hand over his face once more before looking over at Prophet and reaching out for Kehlani. She reached for her dad and placed her head in the crook of his neck when she got in his arms. "No mate, I'm not okay. I don't know if I ever will be." Prophet pursed his lips and walked into the kitchen. Mick and Kehlani sat in silence. He knew that she could feel the tension and heartbreak between he and Emily. "I'm so sorry little one. Your mom and I aren't setting that good of an example for you. I will never ever stop loving you and neither will your mom. You are and will always be the most important person in our lives. Daddy loves you my little ladybug." Kehlani held her father tighter and he felt the tears hit his neck. He held her tighter as he blinked back his own tears.

Prophet tripped over Kehlani's rocking horse, causing Kehlani to giggle, and that gave Mick the distraction to cover his tears before his friend saw them. "Sorry for interrupting the moment. I managed to convince my brother to let me steal his kids for the rest of the day. I figured that you and I could play Mrs. Doubtfire" Prophet said with a grin. "Stealing kids?" Mick asked with an amused look. Prophet rolled his eyes, "Okay fine. Borrow against his wife's will with the intent of returning." Mick's boisterous laugh made Prophet happy. "Mrs. Doubtfire and not Daddy Day Care?" "You made me watch it; it's a good flick by the way. We aren't Daddy Day Care because they aren't my children." "Yeah okay. Lani you want to hang with us today?" Mick asked as he looked at the little girl staring at an old picture of the three of them. She shrugged her tiny shoulders but didn't say a word. Mick hung his head and Prophet clapped his hand against Mick's shoulder. "It'll be okay mate. We'll cheer her up" he said triumphantly as he started to walk backwards and tripped over a Slinky. Kehlani giggled once more, "Me nearly breaking my neck seems to keep her happy. We may have to go with that for the day. Anyways, how many toys does she need?" "She gets bored easily." "Well isn't that lovely. I'll probably break a bone today just trying to get her to smile." "You and me both buddy." The three of them left Mick's house and went off in hopes of an adventure.

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Emily laid on her bed and drew her knees up to her chest. Silent tears made their way down her face. She rested her head on her stomach and immediately felt the absence. Emily felt like her life was getting more complicated by the second. First, she'd lost Mick; then, she'd gotten rid of something so precious. Her guilt was making her flashback to Rome and she hated that feeling. Emily felt like she was failing as a mother to her daughter. Emily never wanted Kehlani to grow up in a broken and dysfunctional home. Emily wished that she and Mick had done a better job of hiding their feelings. No one, let alone Kehlani, should openly feel the amount of tension between the two of them. Emily knew in her heart of hearts that she loved Mick with every fiber of her being, but loving him didn't exactly mean that it was the healthiest thing to do. She lied to him and betrayed his trust and Emily felt like there was no coming back from that. She felt like she desecrated the foundation of everything they worked towards. All she wanted was to be in love and have a father for her daughter; only one of those things worked out.

Emily got out of bed slowly and went downstairs. She'd moved her and Kehlani back into her old condo, which had the perfect view of Capitol Hill, and neglected to tell Mick. Emily felt that if she and Mick weren't together, then there was no reason for him to know that she'd moved out of her parents' place. Emily thought that the tension between her and Mick was bad…her parents were worse. They barely spoke and any conversation they had was obviously forced. Emily and her mother made up after 9 days of the silent treatment. Emily didn't understand how her mother could forgive her so fast but not her father. In the spirit of trying to set a better example for Kehlani, Emily chose to move out.

Once she got downstairs, she walked over to the couch and sat down. Days of lying in bed were driving her crazy. She turned on the television and stopped on Bridesmaids. The movie was predictable but Emily loved it anyways. She had a weakness for Melissa McCarthy and Vince Vaughn. She split her attention between the television and the manila folder on the edge of her table. She was currently waiting on her transfer to go through. Professionally, Emily was needed more in the States than in London. Despite her clandestine side mission, Clyde was impressed with how she elegantly handled the complicated case that involved nearly every police agency. He offered her the DC office and decided to have her trade places with another Interpol chief out of Singapore. She jumped at the chance mostly because she got even more time to spend with Kehlani because of the extremely flexible schedule and partly because she wasn't ready to face Mick's family yet. She didn't want to hear anything about her actions and her decisions in regards to Jeanine and Simon. She'd made her choice and she'd do it again. Not only for Jeanine but also because she gave numerous women in Arizona their life back as well as some closure. Emily just wanted to live her life and try to get over Mick as soon as possible.

Later that night, Emily was put a casserole in the oven and heard a knock on her front door. She went to it and sighed heavily as she saw the two persons on the other side of it. She opened the door and forced a smile, "Hey guys" she said with a nervous chuckle from their intense glare.

"When were you going to tell us about your latest doctor visit?"


	22. Chapter 22

"How did you know about my doctor's appointment?" Emily asked with a defiant hand on her hip. "Bite your tongue! I am the Oracle of all knowing. Why wouldn't I know?" Garcia said back as she too put a hand on her hip. Emily stepped aside and let JJ and Garcia into her home. They made their way to the living room and both women produced a small stack of DVDs. "Horror or Comedy?" JJ asked as she motioned between herself and Garcia. Emily pretended that she hadn't heard Garcia's silent plea for comedy. Emily looked over both stacks and felt a small smile grace her face. "Vince Vaughn? Comedy, of course!" Garcia grinned triumphantly and JJ playfully rolled her eyes. The three women watched a couple of movies before Emily spoke again, "The doctor's appointment—my doctor's appointment—was a bit complicated. I had to make a decision that I'll probably regret for a long time. I'm just not ready to talk about it in detail right now. Can we not talk about it anymore please?" Emily pleaded as she looked at her two best friends. The two women shook their head yes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"So, has she said anything to you?" Prophet asked as he looked over to Mick. The two men were grabbing lunch while the kids got comfortable on the large picnic blanket. Mick looked over his shoulder grateful that Kehlani at least started to interact with Prophet's nieces and nephews. They were playing Jenga with her and letting her destroy the tower as she always did when she played with her father. The small smile on her face made Mick feel just a bit better about the entire situation. "No man. Emily talks through her parents when it comes to me. She has a habit of avoidance. It's a trait that she's pretty good at." Prophet grabbed the food and angled his head in the direction of the kids. "I mean Jeanine, not Emily." Mick's shoulders dropped in defeat. "I'm sorry man. She's all I can think about these days. No, Jeanine hasn't said anything to me. According to my mom, she's fine with everyone in my family. Her and Jenna even managed to make up. She's talking to everyone but me." Prophet placed the food down in front of the kids and watched them all eagerly dive in, even Kehlani. "You ever think that she doesn't know what to say? She probably thinks that she's the reason that you and _someone_ are no longer on speaking terms."

Mick grabbed one of the large sandwiches and immediately dove in. Prophet took a breath and wiped his nephew's hand off before the ketchup hit his clothing and looked at Mick. "Got something you want to ask me?" Mick said as he looked up and took a gulp of his smoothie. Prophet remained silent and Mick gave in, "No. I don't know when she's going back. I would rather ask her that myself than to ask her parents. Regardless of where things stand, or don't stand, with us, we need to find a compromise for our daughter's sake." "And when she goes back, how will visitation go?" "I have no idea. That's why I need to speak with her. If she's leaving soon then we need to figure something out; if she's not, then we still need to figure something out." Prophet and Mick cleaned up everyone's lunch mess and played a few more games with the kids before heading back. Sheldon's car was waiting outside of Mick's house when he pulled into the driveway. Mick put the SUV in park just as Sheldon exited his vehicle. He turned around in his seat and saw Kehlani staring back at him, "Daddy will be right back okay? I just need to talk to grandpa for a little bit." Kehlani shook her head and started to fiddle with the strap on her sandals.

"Mr. Prentiss. How are you?" "Sheldon. Call me Sheldon. I'm fine and you?" "I've had better days. Look I know that you're here to take her back to Emily, but I need to talk to Emily myself." "Are you sure that's wise?" Mick's irritation started to grow with every passing second. "Do I think-? Yes, I think it's wise. We have a daughter together. Regardless of what's happening between us, she always comes first. I need to talk to Emily so that I know when she's going back to London. We need to figure out a visitation schedule for Lani." Sheldon remained silent, not giving away the knowledge that Emily was returning to DC, and pulled out a small notebook. After he scribbled out some information, he passed the slip of paper to Mick. "What's this?" "Her address." "This is local. I thought she was living with you?" "She was until the atmosphere between Liz and I got worse. She should be there right now. I'll let you take Kehlani back." Mick watched as Sheldon waved at Kehlani before getting into his car and pulling out the driveway.

Mick got back into his SUV and buckled his seatbelt before turning around once more to look at Kehlani. She toddler smiled up at her father while trying to kick his seat with her now-bare foot.

" _What are you doing?" Mick asked as he rolled his window down further and look towards the passenger side. "Just getting comfortable." Emily replied as she lifted her leg up higher and took her remaining shoe off. "Do you always take your shoes off on car rides?" "Ever since I was a little girl." Emily said with a smile._

"Like mother like daughter" Mick said with a smirk as he turned around and typed the address into the navigation. Mick sang along with Kehlani as they drove to Emily's place. She'd bid farewell to her friends a couple of hours before. The three women had nearly devoured half of the casserole she made earlier; Emily smiled to herself as she cleaned up the mess they all made. She was wiping her countertops off when the doorbell rang followed by a knock. "What did you leave Garcia?" Emily said as she looked through the peephole. Her breath hitched and her hand immediately went to her stomach as she reached a shaky hand up to undo the latch on her door. Both of their jaws dropped, as they usually did, when they saw each other. "Mommy!" "Hi my baby girl", Emily cooed out and grabbed Kehlani. She looked at Mick who, she had to admit, looked adorable as he held Kehlani's ladybug backpack, Micky Bear, and her sandals in his arms. "May I come in Em?" She hesitated for a moment, "Uh yeah. Come in." Emily said as she stepped aside. Mick looked around and let out a whistle, "This place is spectacular. It looks like you've been here forever. I mean it just looks well lived-in." Emily tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. "I've lived here before. I um lived here when I was still with my old team. I bought it a long time ago. It was cheaper back then. I decided to move us back in here in spite of everything that's happened."

"Your dad mentioned that things were tense back at their place." Emily chose to change the subject. "You hungry?" "Yeah. You cooked something?" "I made a stroganoff casserole which, now that I think about it, happens to be your favorite." "Everything you cook…everything about you is my favorite." Emily turned around and stared at Mick's affectionate eyes. She felt her breath pick up as he took steps towards her. Emily couldn't tell if she'd stopped breathing completely or if her heart was pounding against her ribcage. Mick grabbed Kehlani out of her arms and placed her on the ground. She took off into the living room, that she was obviously used to, and settled against a small beanbag that was surrounded by her toys. Emily backed up until her back made contact with her countertop. He walked closer to her and placed a hand on each side of her small body. Mick left no space between the two of them and whispered against her lips, "I've missed you so much." Emily found her voice and placed one of her hands on Mick's chest. "We've got a lot to talk about before we take this step." Mick pursed his lips and took a step back.

"Mick, I..I need to tell you something. Something that might destroy this completely for us. You might want to sit down." Emily warned as her voice wavered and tears threatened to spill out. Mick didn't move a muscle and that made Emily even more nervous. "Last week, I went to the doctor to get a check-up. I found out that I was pregnant." Mick felt his heart stop as Emily continued, "Given the options, I chose to terminate-" "Are you out of your mind?" Mick nearly screamed at her. "You aborted my child without even talking to me about it? Was it even mine? How could you be so self-centered? Regardless of any issue we have going on, I deserved to know that you planned on killing my child!" Mick's response felt like a verbal punch to Emily. She couldn't believe that he'd said something so horrible to her. Emily choked on a sob as tears continued to make their way down her face.

She gripped the counter as a hand went to her stomach. "I can't believe that you would say something like that to me. I have never EVER cheated on you and I never would. This baby was yours. I didn't have a choice; I had to terminate! If you'd let me finish, you would understand why I had to." Mick looked at Emily guiltily at the mere fact that he made her cry. "Finish please" he pleaded. "I was pregnant…with twins. I had to terminate one of the embryos because it was developing in my fallopian tube. If I let it go on any longer, then I would've lost both babies and probably died myself. I can't leave my daughter without a mother." "Our daughter", Mick corrected. "Oh, now she's yours?" Emily fired back with her arms crossed over her chest. Mick's jaw tensed. "She's always been mine. I said a lot of stupid things when I was upset and I am so sorry for that. I shouldn't have pulled away from you. I'm truly sorry. I know that what you did saved my sister's life and so many other women's. I guess I was just embarrassed because I failed at protecting my sister and you. I was—am—supposed to be able to protect you and Lani. I felt like an idiot because I didn't see what was right in front of me when it came to Simon. Emily, Lani has always been mine…ever since she started out as an embryo."

Mick stepped closer to Emily and placed a hand on her belly and brought his face closer to hers as he spoke. "Doyle was never worthy of being a father to the most spectacular little girl ever. He wasn't worthy of either one of you. Fate made me go to London for a vacation when I could've went any other place. Fate let us run into one another. And fate kept our foundation rock solid and allowed our love to blossom into something beautiful once again." Mick wiped away Emily's tears and kissed her with enough passion to make her toes curl. As their lips parted, Emily rested her head against Mick's chest and he felt her tears make a wet spot on his shirt. He pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. "We're having a baby?" he asked. Emily smiled through tears, "Yes. We're having a baby. I missed you so much." "I missed you too baby. Fighting with you is the worst. Let's make a deal not to do that again." "What are we five?" "Baby, I don't think five-year-olds can make babies. If they can, then we need to move Lani to a new planet." Emily laughed and Mick felt tremendous pressure lift off his chest. "It's good to hear you laugh." "It's good to laugh." "I don't want to ruin the moment, but how are we supposed to do this if you're back in London?" Emily bit her lip coyly and walked away from Mick to grab the file off the table. "I'm not going back to London. I'm transferring. I'll be in D.C. for good." Mick opted not to say anything and lifted Emily off the ground and kissed her senseless. Emily wrapped her legs around his waist and held him as physically close as she could.

Kehlani came around the corner and had the biggest grin on her face. "Mommy and Daddy happy!" she said with a loud clap.


	23. Chapter 23

"Stop looking at me like that." Emily said with her eyes closed as she leaned her head back on his outstretched thighs. Mick smiled widely at her and ran one of his hands through her curly hair and the other against her ribcage. "And stop touching me like that." Mick laughed at her but continued to feign innocence. "I'm just holding you. Where's the harm in that?" Emily opened her eyes and looked up at him. "The harm in that is that every time you look at me like that and touch me like that, you want something." "Oh yeah. What is it that I want?" Mick asked as he shifted Emily in his lap and pulled her to straddle his thighs. Emily craned her neck in amusement and used her thumb to point behind her. "You want me to give you another one. That's what your 'special rubs and massages' mean. We both know it."

Mick laughed and rose up a little. "It's not that bad. You know that I'm right." Emily got off his lap and walked further into the living room to pick up the now-awake toddler. Emily picked up the child and bounced her on her hip. "Is mama's little baby awake? You were supposed to be sleeping. Did you not want to take a nap? Huh? What was so interesting that my little star needed to stay awake?" The little girl smiled up at her mom and grabbed her nose. Mick smiled widely as Emily turned around and walked back towards the couch. He reached out for the little girl with sandy-brown hair and pulled her to his chest. "Hey there Sandy. Did you have a good nap?" "Stop calling her Sandy. You're going to confuse her. Call her Star." Emily scolded gently. "I'm not the one confusing her. You were the one that decided to name our girls-minus one-after constellations and stars. Last time I checked, their names are Kehlani, Alula, Cassiopeia, Alya, and Nova." Mick quipped back.

Emily gave a deep laugh, "Don't make fun. You know that constellations mean the world to mean. It was the most important bond that I had with my grandfather." "So, why did you choose Kehlani?" "At the time, she was the only reason for living. She was the reason I got up every day and fought to have a happier life. When I was trying to figure things out during my pregnancy, I would get lost staring up at the sky regardless of the weather. I knew that the skies would clear up eventually. I had that same feeling when I saw her for the first time. I felt that no matter what, just looking at her would make everything better. I was right." Mick kissed her sweetly on the lips but Emily was the first to pull away. "Don't think you get off that easily. If I seem to remember correctly, you also had a hand in creating our little galaxy."

They both turned their head to the sliding door that was now open as their daughter Cassiopeia—Cassie—came bounding in with her jet-black hair and gray eyes. "Hi. Can we ride our bikes now?" Emily immediately went to grab all necessary—and tremendously unnecessary—protection for the girls. "Em. Babe. Baby. They don't need that much just to ride a bike" Mick said with a laugh. Emily whipped around with a hand on her hip. "Excuse me! Don't you remember when Thing 1 and 2 (Cass and Lani) decided to ride their bikes downhill and crashed into a tree trunk?" Mick only laughed in response and tried to block Emily's swats. "That was awesome!" Kehlani said with a little too much enthusiasm. Emily let out a sigh and threw her hands up in the air, "I thought that I was raising daughters, not sons." "You're raising Rawsons" Mick corrected. Mick went upstairs in the nursery and picked up Alya before walking them both downstairs and out the back door. Mick bounced the little girl on his knee slowly as she sucked on a bottle. Mick looked out at Emily before speaking—more to himself than the little girl in his arms—"You know that I still find this hard to believe. After a wedding, 5 daughters, and your little brother that's almost here, I finally feel complete. Your mom is perfect and she is the only thing that matters. Then, all of you came along and each one of you filled up my heart."

"What are you mumbling about?" Emily asked as she now stood over him rubbing her swollen belly. He reached out and covered her hand with his. "How's my rugby star?" "I would prefer soccer but he is currently stretched across my pelvis…the same way the girls were when I was pregnant with them." "Did you ever imagine that we'd be here?" "No. I never thought that I would give in to you in London. I never thought that I would love you this much. I never thought that I would let you knock me up four times. I didn't think that we'd formally adopt a daughter on our wedding day. And I certainly didn't think we'd be this happy living in D.C." "I did." "And how is that?" Emily asked ignoring his cocky smirk. Mick pulled her in close and whispered against her lips, "Because you are the light of my life and you've given me an entire galaxy of constellations to prove it." Emily gave in and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Make me a promise Em." "Which is?" "Don't name our first son-" "Only" "First born son after another constellation." Emily smiled and walked away without responding, leaving a blubbering Mick behind her.


End file.
